The 91原创-Abbotsford B.C. Conservative candidate has come under fire from Premier David Eby for holding conspiratorial beliefs, as the NDP capitalized on a leaked opposition research document compiled by BC United.
Harman Bhangu, a small business owner, is running in 91原创-Abbotsford for the Conservatives.
On Sept. 26, radio host and former B.C. Liberal MLA Jas Johal posted a link to a 199-page document compiled by the B.C. United 鈥� before party leader Kevin Falcon essentially dismantled the party and threw his support behind the B.C. Conservatives, who were significantly ahead of B.C. United in the polls.
Opposition research is done by most political parties, in an attempt to find controversial or embarrassing statements and information about their rivals.
Social media posts by Bhangu collected in the document include disproven conspiratorial claims that some of the Jan. 6 rioters at the U.S. Capitol were "antifa," referring to left-wing anti-fascist groups, some of whom have been involved in clashes with right-wing protesters or police in recent years in the United States.
Bhangu is one of seven candidates singled out by Eby in an open letter to Conservative leader John Rustad. In the letter, Eby called for Rustad to dump the candidates just before the deadline for nominations on Saturday, Sept. 28.
"The promotion of bigotry, disinformation, and dangerous conspiracy theories is profoundly alarming and has no place in a democratic society 鈥� and certainly not from people seeking the trust of voters to form their next government," Eby wrote in his open letter.
Rustad responded by calling on Eby to support a conflict of interest investigation into recent NDP housing minister Ravi Khalon. None of the candidates singled out were dropped.
The 91原创 Advance Times has attempted to contact Bhangu several times for comment.
"Antifa broke into the capital on Jan 6 too," Bhangu falsely claimed during an argument on Twitter in 2022. "If you read the report you would know antifa dressed as Trump supporters and broke in."
It's unclear what report Bhangu is referring to, but the Select January Committee Report, compiled by a U.S.congressional committee, explicitly rules out the involvement of antifa or other left-wing organizations.
"Ultimately, none of these groups was involved to any material extent with the attack on the Capitol on January 6th," the report says.
The B.C. United opposition research document also notes a number of other statements that Bhangu has made in recent years on social media.
He agreed with another tweet slamming the Vancouver Canucks for wearing Pride jerseys, saying "there is nothing to be proud of."
Bhangu expressed doubt about the effectiveness of vaccines or masks to prevent COVID-19, including calling the vaccines available in 2022 "trash."
A post showing a photo of Dennis Rodman wearing a shirt calling face masks, COVID vaccines, and Joe Biden "3 useless things in this world" drew a response from Bhangu saying "Make it 4 add Trudeau to the list."
The document contained other comments, including the fact that Bhangu has said his children are in private school because he wanted them to avoid "indoctrination" regarding "sexual things," he called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "Blackface Hitler," and referred to a particular brand of beer as a "liquid panty remover."
