1 week ago
13
NEW DELHI:
External affairs minister
S Jaishankar on late Thursday expressed concern over the Canadian government's stance on
Khalistani separatist elements
.
During an interview with PTI, Jaishankar stated that by providing political space to these groups,
Canada
is indicating that its vote bank holds more sway than the
rule of law
. Jaishankar said that India respects and practices
freedom of speech
, but that does not equate with freedom to threaten foreign diplomats, extend support to separatism or allow political space to elements advocating violence.
He questioned how individuals with questionable backgrounds are permitted to enter and reside in Canada, alluding to Khalistani supporters among
Sikh immigrants
from Punjab.
"In any rules-based society, you would imagine that you would check people's background, how they came, what passport they carried etc," he said. The minister further added, "If you have people whose presence there is itself on very dubious documents, what does it say about you? It actually says that your vote bank is more powerful than your rule of law."
Canada hosts a significant Indian diaspora of approximately 1.8 million, along with an additional one million Non-Resident Indians. Predominantly Sikh, this diaspora wields considerable influence in Canadian politics.
Ties between India and Canada soured significantly after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made allegations in September of last year, suggesting the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar.
New Delhi dismissed Trudeau's accusations as "absurd." India has consistently highlighted the primary concern: Canada's tolerance of pro-Khalistani elements operating freely on Canadian territory.
"It is not so much a question of running out of options. What we have seen to our regret has been the direction of Canadian politics where separatists and extremist forces, many of whom openly advocate violence, have been given political space in that country," Jaishankar said.
"And there are people in positions of prominence today in Canadian politics who actually espouse that kind of separatism and extremism," he added.
His comments came in response of a question regarding India's strategy for addressing challenges originating from Canada and whether New Delhi's options are becoming limited.
"We cannot for the good relations overlook that," he said during the freewheeling interview at PTI's headquarters.
Jaishankar said that Canada's response to India's concerns has been centered around the notion of freedom of speech.
"Whenever we have taken this up with the Canadians..it is not a new issue... It has been going on almost for 10 years and they keep saying, oh 'we have freedom of speech'."
"We also have freedom of speech in our country. But freedom of speech does not mean freedom to threaten foreign diplomats, freedom of speech does not mean the kind of positions and the kind of activities which people in Canada are doing which does harm to our country because of its support for separatism," Jaishankar said.
"And freedom of speech does not mean this kind of space which is also given to people of various dubious backgrounds -- people associated with organised crime and so on," the external affairs minister added.
In recent months, India has raised concerns about the safety of its diplomats in Canada, urging Ottawa to ensure their security. There have been threats from pro-Khalistani groups targeting Indian diplomats.
After Trudeau's allegations, India requested a reduction in Canada's diplomatic presence, leading to the withdrawal of 41 diplomats and their families. India's main issue with Canada remains its tolerance of separatists and anti-India elements. Three Indian nationals were charged with Nijjar's murder, reportedly entering Canada on student visas. India stated that Canada hasn't provided specific evidence in the case yet.
(With inputs from agencies)
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