EAM Jaishankar slams Canadian 'double standards'

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Monday slammed the "double standards" adopted by the Justin Trudeau-led government in Canada on the way it treats Indian envoys, and its expectations from New Delhi on Canadian diplomats' privileges.

Speaking on the topic, "The India Century - Diplomacy Redefined" at the two-day "NDTV World Summit 2024 - The India Century" event, EAM Jaishankar said: "The licence they give themselves is totally different from the restrictions they impose on diplomats in Canada."

Referring to the troubled relations with Canada in recent times, S. Jaishankar said Canada has a problem with Indian diplomats trying to find out about what is happening there in relation to India, "but the Canadian diplomat in India will have no problem with collecting information on our military or police, profiling people, targeting people to be stopped in Canada".

He also took a swipe at Ottawa for interpreting freedom of expression as per its own convenience.

When we tell them that there are people openly threatening leaders and diplomats of India, their answer is "freedom of speech", the External Affairs Minister said, slamming the Canadian government for saying that issuing threats to air carriers was part of freedom of speech.

Hinting that Canada's credibility was taking a hit due to its double speak on freedom of speech, the minister said the Canadian government can list out 20-25 Indian journalists saying they are interfering in my country because they have made social media posts and this is the same government that says threat to airlines is part of freedom of speech.

He also shared the example of an objection raised by Ottawa when an Indian journalist said in a post that the Canadian envoy walked out of the South Block looking very grumpy and Ottawa called it foreign interference.

"There are countries which feel your concerns don't matter. That's part of our politics. But if the slightest of thing happens to them, even if it is legitimate, they start jumping up and down," S. Jaishankar said.

Despite the diplomatic row, EAM Jaishankar said that India would like to maintain people-to-people relations with Canada even though New Delhi is having problems with a segment of politics in that country.

"I won't be so anxious on issues like about the safety of Indian families there," he said.

Earlier, in his first reaction after being withdrawn by New Delhi following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's continued "hostility" towards India, senior diplomat and High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma on Sunday termed the allegations levelled by Ottawa as "politically motivated" with no evidence whatsoever presented by the Canadian government of India's alleged involvement in last year's killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

"Nothing at all. No evidence was presented. Politically motivated," Verma told Canada's CTV ahead of his departure from the country.

India recently decided to withdraw its High Commissioner and "other targeted diplomats and officials" from Canada after the Trudeau government - in what was termed as "preposterous imputations" by New Delhi - suggested that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are 'persons of interest' in a matter related to an investigation in the country.