Amid the strain in India and Canada's diplomatic ties over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar slammed Canada for allowing political space to Khalistani separatist elements in the name of 'freedom of speech'.
Speaking in an interview late Thursday, the External Affairs Minister criticized Ottawa for facilitating separatists and extremist forces, many of whom have openly advocated violence, by giving them political space in the country. He said, "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, extremist forces, many of whom openly advocate violence, have been given political space in that country."
"And there are people in positions of prominence today in Canadian politics who espouse that kind of separatism and extremism," he added.
It is pertinent to note that New Delhi has been asserting that its "core issue" with Canada remains the space given to separatists, terrorists, and anti-India elements in that country. However, Jaishankar said, despite the repeated calls, which have been going on for almost 10 years now, the response received is 'oh, we have freedom of speech'. Jaishankar said India cannot overlook the issue for the sake of good relations.
"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 activities which people in Canada are doing that harm our country because it supports separatism," he 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 organized crime and so on," he added.
Moreover, during the interview, the external affairs minister also slammed Ottawa, that for the supporting the vote bank, he said, the country is actually overlooking the rule of law.
"In any rule-based society, you would imagine that you would check people's backgrounds, how they came, what passports they carried, etc.," he said.
"If you have people whose presence there was 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," he added.
Significantly, the Indian diaspora in Canada is about 1.8 million strong, and there are another one million Non-Resident Indians residing in the country. The Indian diaspora, mostly of Sikh ethnicity, is considered an influential bloc in Canada's politics.
Further, it is pertinent to note that the ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in September last year of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar.
New Delhi had also vehemently and categorically rejected Trudeau's charges as "absurd". Earlier, on May 9, India said Canada has not provided any "specific" evidence or information in the case yet. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also said that India continued to remain concerned about the security of its diplomatic representatives in Canada and expects Ottawa to ensure that they are able to carry out their responsibilities without fear.
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