Canada's third party leader Jagmeet Singh faces heat over ties to Sikh separatists

The leader of Canada's third party in parliament, who will challenge Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in elections next year, faced a backlash over his affiliations with Sikh separatists.

Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party, was a keynote speaker at a rally in San Francisco in 2015 for an independent Sikh homeland to be carved out of India, known as Khalistan, Canadian media reported.

Behind him on stage was a large poster of Jarnail



Singh Bhindranwale, the leader of an armed extremist group who died in a shootout with Indian forces.

In his speech, translated from Punjabi for the daily Globe and Mail, Singh accused India of "genocide" against Sikhs in the Golden Temple assault.

The National Post also reported on Singh's attendance at another event in 2016 organized by the British-based National Sikh Youth Federation, which advocates for an independent Khalistan.