Govt of India has strongly reacted to the comments of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and other Canadian leaders on the farmer protests in India. During the last few weeks, several political leaders from Canada have issued statements “expressing concern” over the protests by mainly Punjabi farmers against the new farm laws enacted by the Modi govt.
Reacting to those comments, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava called the remarks ill-informed, saying, “We’ve seen some ill-informed comments by Canadian leaders relating to farmers in India. These are unwarranted especially when pertaining to internal affairs of a democratic country.”
We’ve seen some ill-informed comments by Canadian leaders relating to farmers in India. These are unwarranted especially when pertaining to internal affairs of a democratic country. It’s also best that diplomatic conversations aren’t misrepresented for political purposes:MEA Spox pic.twitter.com/HXtFTrsxCX
— ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2020
Srivastava further added that it is best that diplomatic conversations aren’t misrepresented for political purposes.
Reactions from Canadian ministers over farmer protests in India
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and several other members of the Parliament in Canada, especially from the Sikh community, have raised concerns on the farmers’ treatment by the government of India. PM Trudeau said that the situation is concerning, and his government had reached out to Indian authorities to express their concerns. Other ministers have to target Narendra Modi-led Indian government for allegedly mistreating the peaceful protesters. During the parliamentary session in Canada, several ministers have addressed the house to express their views about the ongoing protests.
During the virtual Gurpurab 2020 celebration, PM Trudeau, at the beginning of his address, talked about the protests in India. Trudeau had said, “I would be remiss if I didn’t start also by recognizing the news coming out of India about the protests by farmers. The situation is concerning. And we all are very worried about family and friends; I know that’s a reality for many of you. Let me remind you. Canada will always be ready to defend the right to peaceful protest. We believe in the importance of dialogue and that’s why we reached out to multiple means directly to Indian authorities to highlight our concerns.”
Several other Sikh MPs, many of whom are sympathetic to the Khalistan movement, had also talked about the protests and supported the agitating farmers in Canadian parliament and outside.