India approves Canadian Prime Minister’s comments on farmers’ demonstrations for “interference in internal affairs”

　　The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Canadian High Commissioner in India on the 4th to protest the Canadian Prime Minister’s remarks concerning India and accuse Canada of interfering in India’s internal affairs.

　　The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India said in a statement that the Indian side summoned Nadir Patel, the Canadian High Commissioner, and lodged a strong protest. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and some Canadian parliamentarians were involved in the protests by some Indian farmers. His remarks "constitute interference in our internal affairs, which is unacceptable."

　　The statement said: "If the above-mentioned actions continue, they will have a serious and devastating impact on the relationship between India and Canada."

　　Dissatisfied with the government's agricultural reforms, farmers in Punjab, India and many other places launched protest demonstrations, many of whom are Sikhs.

Trudeau said when he participated in an event for Indian Sikhs in Canada on November 30 that if he hadn't noticed the news about the protests of Indian farmers, he would be "dereliction of duty" and Canada "will always defend the right to peaceful protest."

　　Indian immigrants are an important part of Canadian immigration.

In 2019, Indian immigrants accounted for about a quarter of all Canadian immigrants.

There are many Indian officials in the Canadian government.

Some media reported that Trudeau was the first foreign leader to comment on the Indian peasant protests. His remarks included considerations such as catering to Indian immigrants.

　　Anurag Srivastava, spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on December 1 that the Canadian side made "small knowledge" and "baseless" remarks on India's internal affairs, "it is best not to distort diplomatic dialogues for political purposes. ".

　　The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in its latest statement on the 4th that Canadian remarks “encourage extremists to carry out activities” and that the Canadian government should ensure the personal safety of Indian diplomats in Canada.

　　In India, some Sikhs sought independence from Punjab and even launched armed operations.

The Indian government classified some Sikhs and Sikh organizations as extremists and terrorist organizations.

(Zheng Haoning) (Xinhua News Agency special feature)