The Indian PM’s reference to the “rule of law” in his tweet served as a pointed reminder to Canadian PM Trudeau to uphold what he has been preaching. – Abhinandan Mishra
After nearly a year and a half of anti-India actions by the Canadian government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence on Monday with a tweet signalling that India will counter Trudeau and his supporters head-on. Trudeau has often been seen as the softer face of the assertive West.
On Monday evening, PM Modi tweeted, “Strongly condemn the deliberate attack on a Hindu temple in Canada. Equally appalling are the cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats. Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve. We expect the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law.”
While the PM’s tweet followed an attack on a Hindu temple by a Khalistani mob in Brampton, its primary message highlighted concerns over surveillance and intimidation of Indian diplomats in Canada. Recently, the Canadian government had also used media leaks to US-based media outlets to implicate Indian diplomats in the June 2023 murder of Khalistani activist Hardeep Nijjar in Surrey. PM Modi’s reference to “cowardly attempts” was directed at these developments that were sanctioned by Trudeau himself.
The Indian PM’s reference to the “rule of law” in his tweet served as a pointed reminder to the Canadian Prime Minister to uphold what he has been preaching. Spying on diplomats, sheltering Khalistani elements, and ignoring over 25 extradition requests for wanted criminals shared by India are actions that hardly align with a respect for the rule of law.
In May, Trudeau had publicly emphasised that “Canada is a rule-of-law country with a strong and independent justice system” while discussing the developments around Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s assassination.
Since Nijjar’s killing in June last year, Canada, with support from certain US elements, has persistently sought to attribute his death—likely the result of a criminal gang dispute—to India’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), which reports directly to the Indian Prime Minister.
This mud-slinging has been carried out without any evidence being offered to prove or tie the murder of Nijjar to the Indian government.
Until Sunday, it was primarily the Ministry of External Affairs and its minister, Subramaniam Jaishankar, who addressed these allegations from the Western bloc. However, by choosing to respond directly to Trudeau’s actions, and without mincing words, PM Modi signalled that the situation has escalated to a point where he must personally assert India’s stance to the global community, lest his silence be misinterpreted as weakness.
Last week, upon learning that its diplomats in Canada were under surveillance, India had made it clear that it would take unprecedented steps not only to express its outrage but also to set a precedent. These actions would be taken in response to gross violations of international laws by Canada, laws that protect the safety of diplomats, ensuring such breaches are not overlooked in the future. – The Sunday Guardian, 5 November 2024
Filed under: canada, india | Tagged: anti-hindu rulers, india-canada relations, justin trudeau, khalistani separatists, narendra modi |
BHARATA BHARATI 
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‘Speculative’, ‘inaccurate’: Canada on media report linking Modi, Jaishankar, Doval to criminal activities on its soil – The Pioneer – PTI – Ottawa – 22 Nov.2024
The Canadian government has dismissed a media report linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to criminal activities in Canada, including the alleged plot to kill Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, terming it as “speculative and inaccurate”.
The denial made by Nathalie G. Drouin, National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Canadian Prime Minister, on Thursday came a day after India strongly trashed the report as “smear campaign”.
Quoting an unnamed senior national security official, The Globe and Mail newspaper on Tuesday reported that Canadian security agencies believe Prime Minister Modi knew about the killing of Nijjar and other violent plots. The official said Canadian and American intelligence tied the assassination operations to Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah. Also in the loop, the official said, was Doval and Jaishankar.
In a statement issued by the Privy Council Office on Thursday, Drouin said, “On October 14th, because of a significant and ongoing threat to public safety, the RCMP and officials took the extraordinary step of making public accusations of serious criminal activity in Canada perpetrated by agents of the Government of India.”
However, he said, “The Government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, or N.S.A. Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada. Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate.”
In a press conference on Oct 14, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Mike Duheme warned of widespread violence, homicides and a public security threat linked to “agents” of the Indian government.
Hours after Duheme’s conference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters, “I believe that India has made a monumental mistake by choosing to use their diplomats and organised crime to attack Canadians, to make them feel unsafe here at (their) home, and even more, to create acts of violence and even murder. It’s unacceptable.”
On Oct 26, Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison alleged that Indian Home Minister Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada.
In New Delhi on Wednesday, referring to the The Globe and Mail report, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said such “ludicrous statements” should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve and “smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties”.
India-Canada ties remain deeply troubled over Canada’s alleged support to Khalistani separatists and its accusation of India’s involvement in the killing of Nijjar, who was gunned down in Surrey, British Columbia in June last year.
India-Canada ties further nosedived last month after Canada linked Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma and some other diplomats to the murder. India has strongly rejected all the allegations made by Ottawa in connection to the case and subsequently recalled the high commissioner. The Canadian government had said the Indian diplomats were expelled from the country.
India expelled Canadian Charge d’Affaires Stewart Wheeler and five other diplomats following Canada’s allegations.
New Delhi accuses Ottawa of doing next to nothing to stop the activities of Khalistani supporters who seek to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.
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‘Incompetence, Inability To Ensure Safety’: Cops Force Canada Temple To Cancel Event Under Khalistani Pressure – Apoorva Misra – News18 – Nov. 22, 2024
Canada’s Vaishno Devi Temple was forced to cancel an event after the Halton Police, under pressure from Khalistani elements, refused to give the venue.
Calling it a “blatant demonstration of incompetence and an inability to ensure the safety of community-benefit events”, the mandir administration said: “We demand that the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) take immediate action to provide viable solutions for Hindu Canadians, Sikhs, Muslims, and others who rely on these services, especially seniors.”
Intelligence sources said police were under pressure from Khalistani groups to force temples to cancel their events.
“The Justin Trudeau government is under pressure before the Finance Bill to oblige Khalistani groups and Jagmeet Singh who is blackmailing the Canadian prime minister. This is for the first time in the world that local police are demanding money to protect minorities,” they said.
Earlier, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) founder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun had announced new dates of temple attacks in Canada and issued an open threat to Hindu MP Chandan Arya, triggering a response from India which termed the actions “terror acts”.
In his threat, Pannun said SFJ would target Indian diplomats at Hindu temples on November 16-17. “We will shake the foundations of Ayodhya… the Canadian PM, RCMP have acknowledged that Indian diplomats spy on Canadian Sikhs and are responsible for the assassination of Shaheed Nijjar. … NEXT Challenge to Indian Terrorist diplomats will be: 16 November At Kalibari Mandir, Mississauga and 17 November, Triveni Mandir, Brampton [sic]”.
The attacks on Hindu temples began on a large scale in the last one year, including the firing at the house of Satish Sharma, president of Surrey’s Lakshmi Narayan Mandir.
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