India, Canada ties might suffer, MEA says objecting to Justin Trudeau’s comment of farmers’ protest

The MEA said that such actions, if continued, would have a seriously damaging impact on ties between India and Canada.

The ministry of external affairs on Friday summoned the Canadian high commissioner and said that the comments made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and some other Cabinet ministers and Parliament members on the issues relating to Indian farmers constitute an unacceptable interference in India’s internal matters. In the press release that the ministry issued on its demarche to the Canadian envoy, it specifically mentioned the name of Justin Trudeau.

The MEA said that such actions, if continued, would have a seriously damaging impact on ties between India and Canada. (ANI)

“Such actions, if continued, would have a seriously damaging impact on ties between India and Canada,” the MEA said.

“The comments have encouraged gatherings of extremist activities in front of our High Commission and Consulates in Canada that raise issues of safety and security,” the ministry said. The ministry also said it expected the Canadian government to ensure the fullest security of Indian diplomatic personnel and its political leaders. It also expects Canadian political leaders to refrain from pronouncements that legitimise extremist activism.

As farmers are protesting the three recently passed agricultural laws which they fear will harm their interests in more than one way, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday expressed his concerns, a move many believe was aimed at Canada’s Indian-origin diaspora. Participating in a Facebook video interaction organised by Canadian MP Bardish Chagger to mark Guruparb or the 551st birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, Trudeau said he must recognise the “news coming out of India about the protest by farmers”. “The situation is concerning and we are all very worries about family and friends,” Trudeau said.

The external affairs ministry termed Trudeau’s comments as “unwarranted”. “It is also best that diplomatic conversations are not misrepresented for political purposes,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said on Tuesday.