Trudeau rants, yet again

The Rising Panjab Bureau

Coming close on the heels of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement that the US wanted India to extend cooperation to Canada in moving into the investigation of the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June earlier this year in the parking lot of a gurdwara in the city of Surrey, British Columbia in Canada by some unknown assailants, Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau has again fulminated against India without furnishing any evidence to back up his allegations.  Reiterating his “credible allegation” against India in the killing of Nijjar by the ‘agents’ of India, Trudeau has also accused India of willfully violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations by ‘kicking out’ 41 Canadian diplomats from India.  Trudeau has warned India saying if bigger countries can “violate international law without consequences”, it will make the world “more dangerous”.  He reaffirmed these allegations while speaking to the reporters in Ottawa on Saturday.

Trudeau also said, "From the very beginning when we learned of credible allegations that agents of the Indian government were involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil, we reached out to India to ask them to work with us in getting to the bottom of the matter. We also reached out to our friends and allies like the US and others to work on this really serious violation of international law and of the sovereignty of a democracy."  "This is something that we are taking very seriously. We will continue to work with all partners as law enforcement and investigative agencies continue to do their work. Canada is a country that will always stand up for the rule of law because if might starts to make right again, if bigger countries can violate international law without consequences, then the whole world gets more dangerous for everyone," Trudeau added.

PM Justine Trudeau does not let any occasion go without accusing India of the killing of Nijjar since the day he made “absurd and motivated” allegations against India in the month of September on the Floor of the House of Commons after returning from India where he had come to attend G20 Summit.  Though India has time and again denied the allegations as “baseless” and has denied having received any evidence from Canada to substantiate the allegations, Canada has been asking India to cooperate in the investigation!  This is a strange situation.

Relations between India and Canada have been on the downslide since Justine Trudeau became the prime minister of Canada due to his soft corner for pro-Khalistan elements.  Anti-India activities in Canada have been on the rise since he took over the reins of Canada.  Dependence for the survival of Trudeau’s Liberal Party on the New Democratic Party led by Jagmeet Singh, who is well known for his affiliations with Khaistani elements for long, appears to be one of the reasons for not taking a stand against anti-India elements in his country.  

The accusations by Justine Trudeau reflect his political immaturity as India’s several requests under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to repatriate more than 25 wanted Indians for various crimes including terrorism have been gathering dust with Canadian authorities.  There has been no cooperation or even willingness to cooperate with India by Canada to protect India’s interests.  It is no secret that not only gangsters responsible for tens of killings in India but also declared terrorists are sheltered in Canada.  Top Indian diplomats posted in Canada are regularly threatened by anti-India elements.  Indian diaspora is bullied and heckled as and when they come out to participate in India’s celebrations.  Hindu temples are being vandalized.  However there is no visible action taken against these rogue elements by authorities in Canada.  

Canada and its Prime Minister Justine Trudeau will therefore do well to introspect before trying to malign India accusing its involvement in the killings of Canadian nationals on the soil of Canada.  Making counter-allegations to cover own shortcomings will not help Canada.