India summons Canadian High Commissioner saying, 'Damaging Impact On India-Canada Ties'

New Delhi, December 04: After Canadian PM Justin Trudeau made "ill-informed" and "unwarranted" comments over farmers protests in India, India summoned Canadian High Commissioner giving a stern warning saying if it continued then it will impact India-Canada ties.

 

 

"Canadian High Commissioner was summoned to Ministry of External Affairs today and informed that comments by Canadian Prime Minister, some Cabinet Ministers and Members of Parliament on issues relating to Indian farmers constitute unacceptable interference in our internal affairs," the Ministry of External Affairs said. It further said that such actions, if continued, would have a "seriously damaging impact" on ties between India and Canada.

 

"These comments have encouraged gatherings of extremist activities in front of our High Commission and Consulates in Canada that raise issues of safety and security. We expect the Canadian government to ensure the fullest security of Indian diplomatic personnel and its political leaders to refrain from pronouncements that legitimize extremist activism," the statement added.

 

This comes two days after External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that Trudeau’s remarks on farmers' protest in Delhi are "unwarranted and ill-informed". “We’ve seen some ill-informed comments by Canadian leaders relating to farmers in India. These are unwarranted especially when pertaining to the internal affairs of a democratic country. It’s also best that diplomatic conversations aren’t misrepresented for political purposes,” Srivastava said in a statement.

 

While speaking on the occasion of the Gurpurab 2020 celebration, PM Trudeau, and his ministers had expressed concerns over ongoing farmers’ protests in India. He also talked about the protests in India. Ministers from the Sikh community, including Navdeep S Bains, Harjit Sajjan, and Bardish Chagger, joined him in the conversation.

 

Trudeau said, “I would be remiss if I didn’t start also by recognizing the news coming out of India about the protests by farmers. The situation is concerning. And we all are very worried about family and friends; I know that’s a reality for many of you. Let me remind you. Canada will always be ready to defend the right to peaceful protest. We believe in the importance of dialogue and that’s why we reached out to multiple means directly to Indian authorities to highlight our concerns.”