India summons Canada's Envoy over Trudeau's 'unacceptable interference' & its consequences

India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday summoned the Canadian High Commissioner and issued a stern demarche over the remarks by Canadian leaders on internal matters of India. The MEA said that recent remarks by Canada's Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers and Members of Parliament on issues relating to the ongoing protests by Indian farmers in and around New Delhi constitute an unacceptable interference in the country's internal affairs. As per the official press release, the MEA said that if such actions continued, the ties between India and Canada would be seriously impacted. 

The Press Release by the Ministry of External Affairs said, "These comments have encouraged gatherings of extremist activities in front of our High Commission and Consulates in Canada that raise issues of safety and security. We expect the Canadian Government to ensure the fullest security of Indian diplomatic personnel and its political leaders to refrain from pronouncements that legitimize extremist activism."

MEA responds to Justin Trudeau's comment

The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson responded following Justin Trudeau's remarks over the farmers' protest and said, "We've seen some ill-informed comments by Canadian leaders relating to farmers in India. These are unwarranted especially when pertaining to the internal affairs of a democratic country. It's also best that diplomatic conversations aren't misrepresented for political purposes."

Justin Trudeau wades into Farmers' protest row

Amid the ongoing farmers' protests in India, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday voiced support for the agitating farmers. During a virtual Gurupurab celebration, Justin Trudeau expressed his concerns over the farmers' protests. In addition, Trudeau also confirmed that his government has raised the issue through 'multiple means' with Indian authorities, though he didn't appear to get into the nature of the impasse and voiced his concern for friends and family at home.

On the day of his remarks as well, the MEA had let Canada know in no uncertain terms that his remarks were unwarranted.

MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, "We've seen some ill-informed comments by Canadian leaders relating to farmers in India. These are unwarranted especially when pertaining to the internal affairs of a democratic country. It's also best that diplomatic conversations aren't misrepresented for political purposes."

Earlier on November 3, the fourth round of talks between the Centre and the farmers' unions concluded without any significant progress. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar announced that they would meet again at 2 pm on December 5. Besides him, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and MoS Commerce Som Parkash represented the Centre in the deliberations.