Justin Trudeau congratulates Modi on re-election, stresses rule of law
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Indian PM Narendra Modi on his re-election on Thursday. But as tensions remained high between the two nations over the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, he used the occasion to reinforce the importance of the rule of law. "Canada stands ready to work with its government to advance the relationship between our nations' peoples—anchored to human rights, diversity, and the rule of law," his office quoted him as saying.
Why does this story matter?
Despite the substantial trade between Canada and India, relationships between the two have been fraught for years due to efforts by certain Canadians advocating the creation of a separate Sikh homeland—Khalistan—within India. Those tensions escalated last year when Trudeau publicly accused PM Modi's government of being involved in the killing of Nijjar. The charge was dismissed as "absurd" and "motivated" by India. The diplomatic fallout later resulted in the expulsions of senior diplomats from both countries.
Modi's BJP emerges as largest party in recent elections
In the recently-held general elections, PM Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single largest party with 240 seats in the Lok Sabha. However, this is a significant drop from the 303 seats it won in 2019. The BJP fell short of a simple majority by 32 seats, forcing it to rely on its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners. PM Modi is set to take his oath of office on June 8.
Global leaders acknowledge Modi's third consecutive win
Leaders from around the world have congratulated PM Modi on his third consecutive term win. Notable figures from Nepal, Mauritius, Bhutan, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Italy expressed their congratulations and eagerness to strengthen relations with India. "We want to commend India's government and its voters for completing and participating in such a massive electoral process," said US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller, applauding the elections as the "biggest democracy exercise in history."
