Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh will meet Mr. Trudeau if the Centre requests, but he will raise the issue of “pro-Khalistan propaganda”.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh will meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his visit to India in late February, if the government requests, but he will raise the prickly issue of “pro-Khalistan propaganda”, the CM’s office says.

Sources confirmed to The Hindu that preparations for Mr. Trudeau’s visit are under way, and advance teams have travelled to Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Amritsar on reconnaissance missions.

According to Canadian officials, Mr. Trudeau, whose visit is expected in “early 2018”, will travel after the Canadian House of Commons goes into recess on February 17, and will likely visit India from February 19-23.

“As of now we do not have any formal intimation about the visit of the Canadian Prime Minister to Punjab,” Raveen Thukral, Chief Minister’s Media Adviser told The Hindu, when asked about the possible meeting.

“If any such meeting is sought by the Canadian authorities, the CM will have no issues in meeting him, [but] he would certainly raise the issue of pro-Khalistan propaganda being unleashed from Canadian soil,” he added.

The Chief Minister’s words are significant as in April 2017, he had refused to meet Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan during his visit to Punjab, referring to him and three other Canadian Ministers as “Khalistanis” [separatists].

The Chief Minister had also accused what he called “Khalistani sympathisers” in the government for forcing him to cancel a series of public rallies in Canada in April 2016 because of protests by Sikh rights groups against him.

The issue of Khalistani elements in Canada has been a sticking point raised by the Central government as well. Then Defence Minister Arun Jaitley raised concerns with Mr. Sajjan, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is understood to have spoken to Mr. Trudeau on the issue when the leaders met at the G-20 summit in Hamburg in July 2017.

Mr. Trudeau, who has frequently attended events by the politically powerful Sikh diaspora in Canada, has famously referred to his Cabinet as having “more Sikhs than Prime Minister Modi’s.” One of Mr. Trudeau’s political rivals, now leader of the New Development Party in Canada, Jagmeet Singh, is also a Sikh.

As a result, Mr. Trudeau’s visit to Punjab will be watched most closely, including a proposed visit to the Harmandar Sahib or Golden Temple. The MEA’s spokesperson declined to comment on whether Mr. Modi will also accompany Mr. Trudeau to Amritsar, as the visit is yet to be announced and “it is too early to share details about the programme.”

The Canadian High Commission in Delhi told The Hindu only that “Prime Minister Trudeau has accepted an invitation from PM Modi” but the dates have not been announced yet.

Mr. Trudeau will join a long list of world leaders expected to visit India in the first quarter of 2018, including Israeli PM Netanyahu in mid-January, 10 leaders of ASEAN nations for the Republic Day celebrations and the ASEAN-India commemorative summit, as well as Jordanian King Abdullah II.

Officials said Mr. Trudeau’s visit could see the signing of the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, and a possible breakthrough in the long-pending free trade agreement, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s trip, three key ministers Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development; François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of International Trade; and Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport had travelled to Delhi in mid-November, accompanied by a mammoth delegation of 200 Canadian business representatives to participate in the Canada-India Technology Summit.

(With inputs from Arun S)