Modi's claim wrong, Manmohan visited Canada in 2010: Congress

Taking "strong objection" to Narendra Modi's claim of being the first Indian prime minister in 42 years to visit Canada, the Congress on Friday sought to remind him of ex-prime minister Manmohan Singh's state visit there in 2010.

Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma noted that former prime minster Manmohan Singh paid an official three-day visit at the invitation of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in June, 2010.

"On (Stephen) Harper's invitation, Manmohan Singh went to Canada in 2010. It was a state visit, and the two released a joint statement after their bilateral engagements," Sharma told reporters here while flashing a copy of the joint communique.

Released on June 27, 2010, the joint statement on former prime minister Manmohan Singh's visit said: "...Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Canada at the invitation of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. During his visit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh participated in G20 Toronto Summit and held bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Stephen Harper."

During the last leg of his three-nation visit Modi said in his address in Canada on Thursday that he was the first sitting Indian prime minister to visit Canada in 42 years.