Amid controversy over cold reception, Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh says he will host Justin Trudeau

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday said that he looks forward to meet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who is on a week-long India visit.

"Look forward to meeting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Amritsar on Wednesday," Tweeted Amarinder Singh.

The Chief Minister also said that he is hopeful that this meeting will help strengthen the close Indo-Canadian business ties as well as the deep-rooted people-to-people relations between our two countries.

Look forward to meeting Canadian Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau in Amritsar on Wednesday. I’m hopeful that this meeting will help strengthen the close Indo-Canadian business ties as well as the deep-rooted people-to-people relations between our two countries.

— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) February 19, 2018

Significantly, Amarinder Singh had earlier refused to meet Candian Defence minister Harjit Sajjan during the latter's visit to Punjab last year. He had even accused Sajjan of being a "Khalistani sympathiser".

The development comes even after the Canadian Prime Minister received a lukewarm welcome by the Indian government when he arrived on Saturday. He was received by MoS Agriculture Gajendra  Shekhwat, hinting towards a low-key reception.

However, amid reports, top government sources have strongly dismissed speculation, mostly in the Canadian media, that PM Modi's absence is a snub for Justin Trudeau, reported NDTV. 

Earlier in the day, Canadian Prime Minister and his family offered prayers at the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple here and visited the Sabarmati Ashram as part of their day-long visit to Gujarat.

The family travelled straight to Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad after arriving this morning.

Trudeau, accompanied by his wife Sophie and their three children, visited Hriday Kunj, the place where Mahatma Gandhi lived and from where he ran the non-violence movement.

The Canadian PM will travel to Amritsar on Wednesday where he will visit the Golden Temple. He will return to Delhi the same day.

Trudeau is scheduled to visit Jama Masjid and a cricket ground here on February 22 besides delivering a lecture at a gathering of Canadian and Indian business leaders.

He will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Modi on February 23.

The next day, he is scheduled to address a conference of young change-makers before wrapping up his visit.

The ties between India and Canada have been on an upswing. Approximately 1.4 million Canadians are of Indian heritage and India is Canada's second largest source of immigrants.

Canada is also a leading education destination for Indian students, and India is the second largest source of international students, an estimated 124,000 in 2017, as per official figures.