New Delhi:
By giving political space to Khalistani separatist elements, the Canadian government is sending the message that its vote bank is “more powerful” than its rule of law, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said.
In an exclusive interview with Press Trust of India, Mr Jaishankar said that India respects and practices freedom of expression, but this does not equate to the freedom to threaten foreign diplomats, support separatism or give political space to elements who advocate violence.
The foreign minister also questioned how people with questionable backgrounds are allowed to enter and live in Canada, citing Khalistani separatists among Sikh migrants from Punjab.
“In any rules-based society, you could imagine checking people's backgrounds, how they came, what passport they were carrying, etc.,” he said.
“If you have people whose presence is on very dubious documents, what does that say about you? It actually says that your vote bank is more powerful than your rule of law,” the minister said.
The Indian diaspora in Canada numbers approximately 1.8 million people, with another million non-resident Indians living in the country. The Indian diaspora, mainly of Sikh ethnicity, is considered an influential bloc in Canadian politics.
Ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in September last year about the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar's murder.
New Delhi dismissed Trudeau's allegations as “absurd.” India has maintained that the main issue is Canada's need to give space to pro-Khalistani elements operating with impunity from Canadian soil.
“It's not so much a matter of running out of options. What we have seen with regret is the direction of Canadian politics in which separatists and extremist forces, many of whom openly advocate violence, have been given political space in that country. Mr. Jaishankar said.
“And there are people in prominent positions in Canadian politics today who actually embrace that kind of separatism and extremism,” he said.
His comments came in response to a question on how India plans to deal with the challenges emanating from Canada and whether New Delhi is running out of options.
“We cannot overlook that because of good relations,” he said during the casual interview at PTI headquarters.
Mr. Jaishankar said Canada's response to India's concerns was that the country has freedom of expression.
“Every time we bring this up with Canadians… it's not a new issue… It's been going on for almost a decade and they keep saying, oh 'we have freedom of speech.'” “We also have freedom of speech in our country. But freedom of expression does not mean the freedom to threaten foreign diplomats, freedom of expression does not mean the kind of views and the kind of activities that people in Canada are doing that are harmful to our country because of its support for separatism,” Jaishankar said.
“And freedom of expression does not mean this kind of space that is also given to people with various dubious backgrounds – people linked to organized crime and so on,” the foreign minister added.
In recent months, India has raised concerns about the safety of its diplomats in Canada and called on Ottawa to ensure they can carry out their responsibilities without fear.
There have been instances of pro-Khalistani elements threatening to harm Indian diplomats.
Days after Trudeau's allegations in September last year, India asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country to ensure equality. Canada subsequently withdrew 41 diplomats and their family members from India.
India has claimed that its “core problem” with Canada continues to be the space given to separatists, terrorists and anti-India elements in that country.
Last week, Canadian authorities charged three Indian nationals with Nijjar's murder. It is reported that they entered Canada on a student visa.
On Thursday, India said Canada had not yet provided “specific” evidence or information in the case.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)