Justine Trudeau tests India’s deepening bonds with G7 members

By Manish Anand

New Delhi, September 19: Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau’s sensational claims of “credible allegations against the involvement of Government of India in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar” may test India’s deepening ties with G7 members. India has firmly rejected Trudeau’s charges, while expelling a Canadian diplomat.

The US and Australia have formally reacted to Trudeau’s accusations, with both the G7 members calling for investigations in Nijjar’s murder. While India has been vocal against the rising incidents of the Khalistani supporters visibly targeting the Indian diaspora and other assets in Australia, the UK and the US, Canada has been an outlier by becoming a sanctuary of the anti-India elements for decades.    

Adrienne Watson of the White House (the US) said in a statement that “we are deeply concerned about the allegations referenced by Prime Minister Trudeau earlier today”. Stating that the US is in touch with Canada, he said: “It is critical that Canada’s investigation proceed and the perpetrators be brought to justice.”

Spokesperson for Australian foreign minister Penny Wong also in a statement stated that “all countries should respect sovereignty and the rule of law”. Trudeau, incidentally, has levelled accusations against India of violating the sovereignty of Canada.

Trudeau’s accusations against India has come at a time when the consensus view in New Delhi, conveyed to Canadian prime minister on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit, that Canada is patronizing anti-India elements on its soil. The Khalistani supporters had recently attacked the Indian diplomatic assets in Canada. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had confronted Trudeau in New Delhi over the incidents of attacks against the Indian assets in Canada.

Ironically, Trudeau is seen to playing into the hands of Khalistani elements in his bid to win the support of the Sikh voters in Canada, while the G7 country is increasingly seen getting isolated in the world order. Canada’s economy is sinking with the liberal immigration policy of the country also failing to shore up the economic activities.

India has also paused the talks for Free Trade Agreement with Canada even while New Delhi has inked a comprehensive pact with Australia and the one with the UK is under negotiations. India and Germany ties have gained further momentum, while New Delhi’s ties with Washington and Tokyo are seen to have entered into bonds of mutual benefits.

Barring Canada, India has reinvented ties with G7 members, being a regular invitee to its summits. The drift of Canada has also been seen with China, as Xi Jinping, president of the communist nation, had publicly rebuked Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia last year.     

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