'Fighting for our lands': Canadian politician on visit to farmers' protest site

India's relations with Canada took a hit in December last year over the ongoing farmers' protests against three agriculture laws. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other politicians had expressed concern about the ongoing protests, leading to the ministry of external affairs summoning Ottawa's envoy to India.

Now, a member of Canada's opposition Conservative Party is at the centre of controversy after he visited a farmers' protest site in Kundli on the Haryana-Delhi border.

Ramandeep Brar, a Sikh, was the Conservative Party's candidate in the Brampton South constituency in the 2019 federal election. Brar lost the election to another candidate of Indian origin.

Ramandeep Brar uploaded an image of himself at Kundli on January 2.

News 18 claimed that Brar was an Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card-holder. An OCI card-holder is prohibited from participating in any form of political activity in India.

Ramandeep Brar acknowledged to News 18 that he had been present at the protest site. However, Brar denied any violation of protocol.

Brar told News 18 the protests "were not the matter of the farmers only".Arguing he came from a farming background, Brar said "These laws directly affect us".

Brar said he was not aware of the restrictions on OCI cardholders on being involved in political activities. Brar told News 18 the farmers' protests were not political in nature. "We are fighting for our lands... this is not a political fight." Brar added he had relatives in India and owned land in India.

Referring to the possibility of the “government or corporates” taking over lands, Brar said the farm laws were a “direct attack on us”.