Trudeau’s allegations ‘unfortunate’: Head of US-India forum on Najjar’s murder | Latest News India


USISPF President and CEO Mukesh Aghai said on Friday that it was “unfortunate” that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau brought allegations against India “without solid evidence” in his parliament last month.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau at the G20 summit in New Delhi in September. (HT Image)(HT_PRINT)

Tensions between the two countries flared after Trudeau accused Indian agents of linking Indian agents to the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Najjar in June.

India strongly denied the allegations and also expressed its concern over the security of Indian diplomats and India’s diplomatic premises in Canada.

“It is unfortunate that an important issue was brought up in Parliament without any concrete evidence and from there the relations between the two countries deteriorated,” Agha told PTI in an interview.

“The relationship between the two countries goes back a long way. You have big trade, over 230,000 Indian students studying there. Canada has invested about $55 billion in India and it’s unfortunate that a country’s minister Azam goes to Parliament saying “credible allegations” and is unable to come up with evidence to show that these allegations are credible.

“I think strong minds have to manage and calm the situation because it has an impact, because Canada is going to leverage the US to put pressure on India,” Agha said.

Responding to a question, Agha felt that the diplomatic dispute between Canada and India would affect India-US relations, but in the long run bilateral relations between the two countries would deepen and broaden.

“The US-India relationship is geopolitical. It is linked to economic issues and the Indian-American diaspora. Yes, it will have an impact, but in the long term the relationship itself will continue to deepen and broaden,” he said.

According to Agha, the Canadian Prime Minister’s allegations were due to domestic politics and dependence on the Sikh-dominated party for his political survival.

“There are two factors. One is domestic politics. The NDP, which supports Prime Minister Trudeau, is a Sikh majority party. So, you have to get that vote, so domestic politics, take over the national interest,” he said. said

And it is a pity because you always prioritize the national interest before running the country’s politics. Another factor is that the interaction between PM Trudeau and PM Narendra Modi the second time around was not very warm and healthy. I think Trudeau felt uneasy about that and it carried over into his statement in Parliament,” Agha said.

He said that India is a rising power, if it wants to become a great power, it has to become a responsible power. As far as markets go, geopolitics goes, India’s importance will only get stronger.

“We have to understand, nations have to protect their interests,” Agha said.

“In this case, you have Khalistanis for the last 20 years essentially creating challenges for India. In the Air India bombing where 329 people were killed, only one person was prosecuted. Fully Shameful process the way they handled it. I think as far as India is concerned, I think yes, India will face some challenges in the short term, but in the long term I think India It will continue to emerge as an economic power and as a global power.

In response to a question, the head of the USISPF said that what is happening in Canada is not freedom of expression.

“When you look at the statements coming out, you’re taking ballots to create a separate Khalistan in British Columbia. You have floats celebrating the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Freedom of expression is not. It’s all about trying to create that feeling or targeting India itself,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s healthy and Canada should have talked about it, worked with India from that point of view. We (Canada) talk about a simple plumber, but if If you look at his background, he is a criminal. And he himself talks about using a machine gun in a shooting gallery. I think the Canadian story and narrative is very different from the Indian perspective. It’s different. I think both countries have to sit down and figure it out and… deal with it,” he said.

When asked if he felt an anti-India undercurrent in the US as well, he said, “What we have seen is the progressive left, especially the media portraying him (Modi) as a demagogue. But it presents, fundamentally, it doesn’t understand what’s going on here. In the last about nine and a half years, one government has lifted 300 million people out of poverty,” he said.

On social media, he noted, one can see that China is fueling the whole situation.

“Yes, it does. Because if it can derail India-US relations, it is in China’s interest. We also have to be very careful and mature about it to make sure that That we don’t derail the entire process that we have built ourselves over the last 20 years. So the onus is on India, the onus is on the US to make sure the relationship doesn’t derail because these two countries There is a win-win relationship between,” Agha said.

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