Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian leader Justin Trudeau met on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Laos. Despite Trudeau’s claims, Indian sources have maintained that there was “nothing substantive in the meetings.” Relations between the two countries have deteriorated considerably since Justin Trudeau’s unsubstantiated and outrageous accusations on the Indian Government.
The two leaders were attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Laos’ Vientiane on Friday, October 11. This meet marks the second time Modi and Trudeau have come face to face this year, they had met earlier this year at the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Apulia, Italy, in June.
Tensions between the two countries continues to remain high. Under Trudeau, Canada seems to have adopted a very anti India policy. Last September the Canadian leader even went on to accuse the Indian Government of being involved in the assassination of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. India outrightly refuted the allegations as absurd. Since then both countries have been involved in a tough diplomatic tussle.
Trudeau’s claims refuted
Speaking post the meeting, Trudeau went on to elaborate about his interaction with PM Modi, saying he had a “brief exchange” with his Indian counterpart. The Canadian PM also claimed that in the meeting he had highlighted the safety of his citizens, “I won’t go into details about what we talked about, but what I’ve said many times is that the safety of Canadians and upholding the rule of law is one of the fundamental responsibilities of any Canadian government, and that’s what I’ll stay focused on.”
Trudeau also continued with his accusations on India, “What I will say is that the statement I made around credible allegations of India’s involvement in the death of Canadian on Canadian soil continues to stand, that our responsibility as a government to keep Canadians safe in their homes and their communities right across the country remains one of the top preoccupations of this government,” he was quoted as saying by CBC News.
Meanwhile Indian sources have given a strong rebuttal to Trudeau’s claims, government sources told ANI that there was no substantive discussion between PM Modi and Trudeau in Vientiane. “India continues to expect that anti-India Khalistani activities will not be allowed to take place on Canadian soil and that firm action, which is lacking thus far, will be taken against those advocating violence, extremism and terrorism against India from Canadian territory,” ANI reported citing its sources.
“India attaches importance to relations with Canada but these cannot be repaired unless the Canadian Government takes strict and verifiable action against those who actively pursue anti-India activities and have conspired to promote hate, disinformation, communal disharmony and violence in India as well as Canada,” sources added.
Deteriorating Indian-Canadian relations
Trudeau has once again continued with his wild and baseless allegations, the comments will continue to mar the relations between the two nations. The Canadian PM has also continued the row over the killing of Khalistani Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The man in question, Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a well known Khalistani extremist who had fled India. The Indian government had designated him as a terrorist affiliated with the militant Khalistan Tiger Force, seeking his arrest. Nijjar had continued carrying out his anti India operations in Canada. On 18 June, 2023, Nijjar was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, in a suspected gang violence attack.
Over the years India had continued to press Ottawa to take action against such anti India, Khalistani elements gathering force in the country, but the Canadian authorities turned a blind eye to India’s concerns. Instead of dealing with fanatics like Nijjar and countering such extremist forces, the Canadian PM went on to accuse India of interference in Canada and Canadian elections.
The nexus of extremist anti India forces, deeply intertwined with organized crime and drug syndicates have today gained complete footing in Canada, with a strong grip on the Canadian politics. Trudeau too seems to be toeing their line. The comments made by the Indian authorities assures that from the Indian point of view the stand remains clear: anti India activity will not be tolerated, terror and talks cannot go hand in hand.
-By Jyotirmay Kaushal
