Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 12: The stranded Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally left Delhi for home on Tuesday evening even as the unscheduled diversion of a replacement plane remained shrouded in mystery.
Trudeau, who was in Delhi to attend the G20 Summit last weekend, was scheduled to return home along with most other foreign dignitaries at the conclusion of the confabulations on Sunday evening.
But just minutes before he with his entourage to take off, Mr Trudeau’s plane had been grounded with technical issues on Sunday evening requiring him to return to his hotel in central Delhi and await a replacement.
The second plane – routed via Italy – was to land at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi airport on Monday to fly the prime minister’s entourage to home but for some unknown reasons that plane was later diverted to the United Kingdom. No reason was given for the unscheduled diversion to London, media reports said.
Fortunately, his first plane has now been fixed and he is now on his way home. “The technical issue with the plane has now been resolved. The plane has been cleared to fly…” a statement from his office said.
It is still not clear what happened to the Canadian PM’s replacement plane, on Monday his office would only say the “issues are not fixable overnight” and that “the situation remains fluid.” “The Canadian Armed Forces continue their best efforts to get the Canadian delegation home. Their latest update shows an earliest possible departure of Tuesday late afternoon,” his office had said.
He was seen off at the airport by the Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who posted on X, “On behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and my colleagues in the government, I was at the airport today to thank Mr Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, for his presence at the G20 Summit, and wished him and his entourage a safe trip back home.”
Mr Trudeau’s delayed departure has been seen as awkward given criticism of his government over its handing of Khalistan terrorists and sympathisers in his country. Trudeau is not very popular in India owing to his non-committal attitude against the pro-Khalistan activists in Canada.
During the G20 Summit in New Delhi, Justin Trudeau met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed various aspects of the India-Canada relationship. Justin Trudeau even addressed a press conference after the summit where he spoke on various issues including the Khalistan issue. When asked about the Khalistani issue, Trudeau said, “I think on the issue of the community, it is important to remember that the actions of the few do not represent the entire community or Canada.”
On Sunday, India had expressed “strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada.” The nexus of such forces with organised crime, drug syndicates and human trafficking should be a concern for Canada as well,” the ministry said. “It is essential for the two countries to cooperate in dealing with such threats.”
Relations between the nations have been tense; in fact, the leaders did not hold a formal bilateral at the summit. They did, however, have a brief conversation – one in which they discussed foreign interference and “respect for the rule of law”, Mr Trudeau said. India has characterised a June protest outside its High Commission in Ottawa as an “attack” and its anti-terror agency is investigating the incident.
Mr Trudeau said his country “will always defend freedom of expression… of conscience… of peaceful protest and it is extremely important to us. At the same time, we are always there to prevent violence and push back against hatred.”
“The flip side of it, we also highlighted the importance of respecting the rule of law and we did talk about foreign interference…,” the Canadian PM said. “India is an extraordinarily important economy in the world and an important partner to Canada” Trudeau added.
Canada’s administration has repeatedly used things like freedom of expression and peaceful protest to defend anti-India activities in the country.
Trudeau will land in Canada under a cloud amid backlash and criticism over his alleged diplomatic failure at the G20 Summit. The mood in Canada is inclement if the reactions of the media, experts and politicians are anything to go by.
Canada’s leader of the opposition, Pierre Poilievre, posted a scathing remark on X on Monday. “Putting partisanship aside, no one likes to see a Canadian prime minister repeatedly humiliated and trampled upon by the rest of the world,” Poilievre tweeted, with the image of a page of the Toronto Sun. The headline on the Toronto Sun page read, ‘This Way Out’, with the description, “Trudeau finds he has few friends at G20 summit in India.”
Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party of Canada on Tuesday posted a video of Trudeau’s foreign embarrassments with the caption ‘Trudeau’s never ending global clown show grounded in India.’
Trudeau’s India visit was one that did nothing to mend the frosty ties that he has developed with India due to his patronage of Khalistani elements in Canada. Trudeau’s entire diplomatic faux pas was what was highlighted by Canada’s leader of opposition and political experts.
During his G20 trip, Trudeau not only made relations with India worse but also distanced Canada from key allies, wrote political commentator Brian Lilley. “The photo by Canadian Press photographer Sean Kilpatrick showed American President Joe Biden pointing a finger in Trudeau’s face. Neither man appeared happy in this moment, both seemed tense, and Biden appeared to be lecturing,” wrote Lilley in The Toronto Sun.
The journalist also went on to question Trudeau’s policy that he said is hurting Canada’s economic interests.
Canada recently called off negotiations on a trade deal with India, citing no reason publicly. This comes even as the UK, under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is going ahead to sign a free trade agreement with India by the end of the year. Lilley said Trudeau sees PM Modi’s domestic policies as detrimental to his own political future and “wants to poke him in the eye”.
“Given the power of the Sikh community in Canada, he [Trudeau] is siding with them [Khalistanis] even if it hurts Canada economically,” he wrote, adding that Trudeau was catering to his narrow political interests. However, the domestic situation is changing fast for Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party is gaining people’s support.