Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau-led government, which has been defending anti-India protests in the guise of "freedom of speech", has now backfired its own stance. Twitter's (X) boss Elon Musk has now criticised Ottawa for "crushing free speech" in the country after it made it compulsory for online streaming services to formally register with the government for 'regulatory controls'.
"Today, the CRTC is advancing its regulatory plan to modernize Canada’s broadcasting framework and ensure online streaming services make meaningful contributions to Canadian and Indigenous content," read the statement released following the contentious order passed by the Trudeau government.
Echoing an X post by a journalist, Musk called the move "shameful" "Trudeau is trying to crush free speech in Canada. Shameful," Musk wrote in X post.
Why does Elon Musk's stance matter for India?
It is worth mentioning the latest development came in the midst of a controversy that erupted following Trudeau's "baseless" allegations against India. While speaking at the Canadian Parliament-- House of Commons-- Trudeau alleged New Delhi's agents behind the killing of Khalistani terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar-- a claim that India rejected multiple times and in fact on the global stage.
Notably, this came at a time when Canada was defending anti-India movements in the country under the guise of "free speech" in the country.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, Khalistani terrorists have been given "free hands" who openly rally against Indian diplomats and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Although India has had raised the issues multiple times, Ottawa did not take any action against them. It always cites "freedom of speech" to defend Khalistani protestors.
Earlier on Monday and Tuesday, MEA S Jaishankar rejected Canada's claims from the platform of the United Nations General Assembly and at a private event respectively. He highlighted the “organised crime, related to secessionist forces, violence and extremism” in Canada, raising concerns over them being “very permissive” due to political reasons.
“In the last few years, Canada actually has seen a lot of organized crime, relating to the secessionist forces, organized crime, violence and extremism. They're all very, very deeply mixed up. So in fact, we have been talking about specifics and information,” Jaishankar said.
