Justin Trudeau’s painful India trip: Earful from Modi govt, criticism back in Canada

While Justin Trudeau remained stranded along with his country’s delegation at the Group of 20 or G20 Summit in New Delhi, his plane-glitch drama only added to the Canadian Prime Minister's woes in his travels to India.

 

 

According to the latest reports, a backup plane and spare parts are en route to India for Trudeau, who is stranded after the plane he arrived on broke down.

 

Canada said the earliest possible departure from the national capital is Tuesday late afternoon and that the country's armed forces are continuing with their best efforts to bring them back home. In an e-mailed statement to news agency PTI, the Prime Minister's office said the Canadian Armed Forces continue their best efforts to get the delegation home.

 

The aircraft's technical issues were an inauspicious end to Trudeau's trip that included criticism from the Narendra Modi government over the pro-Khalistan activities in Canada.

 

On this trip, even before the plane breakdown, Trudeau had been publicly criticised by Prime Minister Modi for allegedly allowing the “anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada", a reference to Khalistan.

 

Modi, during his meeting with his Canadian counterpart, raised “strong concerns” about the continuous “anti-India activities” by extremist elements in Canada, and stated that it is essential for the two countries to cooperate in dealing with such threats.

 

 

 

The ties between India and Canada saw deterioration, with Ottawa recently suspending negotiations on a trade treaty with New Delhi.

 

Political protests by Canada's large Sikh population are a flashpoint. A pro-Khalistan supporter Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead by two masked gunmen in British Columbia in June. Khalistan separatists took to the streets of Toronto to protest the Indian government, which they believe is responsible for his death. The killing is still under investigation.

 

 

 

Trudeau’s national security adviser, meanwhile, has said that India is a major source of foreign meddling in Canada’s affairs. The two prime ministers did not hold a formal bilateral meeting at the summit, but in a brief conversation on the sidelines, Trudeau said the pair discussed foreign interference and “respect for the rule of law.”

 

Trudeau said the issues of Punjab separatists in Canada and Canadian concerns about Indian interference in its affairs have come up in his conversations with Modi over the years.

 

 

 

“Obviously Canada will always defend freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, peaceful protest. That’s something that’s extremely important to us. At the same time as we are always there to prevent violence, to push back against hatred,” he said a news conference in the Indian capital. “It’s important to remember that the actions of the few do not represent the entire community or Canada.”

 

 

Back home, Trudeau’s travel delays also triggered a debate about the crumbling nature of Canada’s state infrastructure. The Airbus A310s that carry Trudeau and other top officials abroad date back to the 1980s and are badly showing their age.