- The Indian presidency of the G20 and the successful conduct of the New Delhi summit speaks volumes about the way our leadership led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has galvanised the global leadership’s outlook towards us. Needless to mention, the whole world is going gaga over the way the entire meetings leading up to the summit were conducted by such meticulous planning and execution. Of course, there were murmurs of dissent emanating from some quarters over the issue of the Russian conflict with Ukraine and China’s unfettered support to Beijing. This potentially could have obstructed the joint declaration which eventually turned out to be unanimous. Kudos to Indian diplomacy’s deft handling.
PC: Business Today Desk
- PM Modi had several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the G20 summit but what stood out in stark contrast was the way the Indo-Canadian relationship has nosedived over the last few months. The Canadian PM Justin Trudeau came here, saw the unfolding events with bemusement and flubbed again to derive nothing out of his visit. The PM finally left India on Tuesday and at home he’s getting roasted for yet another diplomatic disaster in New Delhi. As mentioned above, Trudeau was only granted a pull-aside meeting even as the high-profile bilateral meetings with other leaders were given prominent headlines. New Delhi- Ottawa ties are as icy as Canadian winters. Let’s look into why it is so.
- Look not far from the reason for how Canada’s warm, fuzzy response to Khalistan extremists’ has panned out in the interim. When Modi brought up the Khalistani issue, Trudeau countered with the right to peaceful protest. But that’s not the point at all. The right to protest is fundamental in a democracy. Nonetheless, what should a responsible government do when known extremists who advocate violence and target diplomats, and who are in cahoots with terror sponsors regularly put up threatening shows of strength? Note that Khalistanis’ links with Pakistan-backed Kashmiri groups are well-documented. As reported, Khalistanis in Canada have circulated posters with names and photographs of Indian diplomats, marking them as targets.
PC: ANI
- Recently, terror outfit Sikhs for Justice called for the shutdown of the Indian embassy in Ottawa, demanding that the Indian ambassador be sent home. Plus, it’s rich of Trudeau to defend peaceful protests when his government is using strong-arm tactics against Canada’s indigenous Wet’suwet’en land defenders protesting the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline cutting through their territory. Yes, radical Sikhs have come to wield disproportionate influence over the Canadian political system. Giving in to local pressure tactics by not being sensitive enough to India’s valid concerns is foolhardy. Thus, Trudeau should course correct here to stay relevant in the larger scheme of things.
