COWARDLY
06 Nov 2024 10:43:02
CANADA, under Prime Minister Mr. JustinTrudeau,
is walking a path of disaster by repeatedly missing signals from India. Things have now crossed
the limits of absurdity as sheer ugliness is driving the Trudeau government’s behaviour towards
the Hindu community in the country. The attack on a Hindu
temple in Brampton, a hotbed of pro-Khalistani activities,
has triggered another round of fight between the governments of India and Canada with Prime Minister Mr. Narendra
Modi terming the latest incident as a “cowardly attempt of
intimidation”. There is now a fundamental disconnect of
Mr. Trudeau with what India views and seeks and New Delhi
has no option remaining than to shut down relations with
Canada at all levels totally.
The clash between pro-Khalistani elements and Hindus
in Brampton shows how Mr. Trudeau has given political
space to extremist forces in the country. Involvement of
police personnel in backing pro-Khalistani elements has
also come to the fore in the latest incident which again exposes the support the Sikh separatist forces are getting from
the ruling dispensation. Despite criticism from opposition
members and also some of his own party members, Mr.
Trudeau continues to walk a dangerous path to fulfill his
electoral agenda.
The clashes have come on the back of the absurd and
ridiculous allegations of involvement of India’s Home Minister
Mr. Amit Shah in ordering a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists
inside Canada. New Delhi has trashed these statements made
by Canada’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Mr. David
Morrison while warning of serious consequences. Now, the
warning by Prime Minister Mr. Modi to the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law must
be taken up with some earnest steps to make Ottawa realise
that New Delhi means business.
Canada’s allegations against Indian diplomats and now
Mr. Shah have come at a time when Mr. Trudeau appears
to be battling anti-incumbency with elections barely a year
away. A new poll has revealed that only 28% overall think
Mr. Trudeau deserves re-election and only 26% would vote
for the Liberals which has forced the ruling party to focus
on pro-Khalistan members among the 7,70,000 Sikh diaspora living in Canada. Myopic electoral gains have forced
Mr. Trudeau to deliberately miss all signals from New Delhi
regarding Indian concerns over pro-Khalistani elements in
Canada.
By granting political space to these extremists and allowing their anti-India tirade and violent activities as mere
activism and dissent protected by free speech, Canada is
stretching things to a point of no return. The dirty allegations against Indian diplomats and intelligence agents of
their involvement in the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a
listed terrorist, are part of whipping up frenzy among the
pro-Khalistan forces. Despite repeated demands, Canada
has failed to provide any substantial proof of involvement
of Indian officials in the killing of Nijjar. It is a reason enough
for India to dial the top international agencies and expose
Canada’s designs of starting a war minus weapons against
India. New Delhi must leverage its relations with the United
States and the countries which are part of the Five Eyes surveillance grouping to grill Canada on the unsubstantiated
and utterly ridiculous charges against India.
It is time New Delhi summoned all its dexterous diplomatic strategies for shaping a solid and powerful response
that Ottawa should remember for years to come. The gallery
show by Mr. Trudeau needs a definite closure now