The Indian Ambassadors' Group comprising of 22 Indian diplomats has written an open letter that accused Canadian authorities of 'vote bank politics'.
The letter comes amid the ongoing farmers' agitation and Justin Trudeau's comment, amounting to interference in Indian domestic matters. Interacting with the Sikh community last week, on the birthday of Guru Nanak, PM Trudeau said "the situation is concerning."
The diplomats' letter read, "Canada is one of the most diverse multicultural societies, where each religion, ethnicity, language and culture is provided with space and encouragement to flourish. The Canadian people, in general, are friendly, welcoming and hospitable. They nurture warm feelings towards India which are wholeheartedly reciprocated."
The Indian community is steadily growing in Canada and it has become an inalienable part of the national mainstream. The nearly 2-million strong Indian diaspora comprises over 5 per cent of the Canadian population, of which the enterprising and valiant Sikh community is close to 7,00,000. Given the complementary relations, India and Canada should be natural partners, they wrote and reiterated the fact that both nations "enjoy robust economic, energy, educational and people-to-people ties."
Canadians are aware of significant additional opportunities for mutually beneficial engagement coming their way, as India is steadily progressing towards becoming the third-largest economy, in less than two decades, pointed out the letter. Canadian pension funds and corporate houses, which have already invested over $50 billion in India, have all the potential to scale up, they said.
Safe Haven for Khalistani elements to carry out anti-India activities
On the flip side of it, they said bilateral political equations will face stress due to the propensity of certain Canadian political parties and leaders who are engaging in 'vote bank politics'. India has alleged repeatedly that the separatist and violent Khalistani elements carry out anti-India activities, from the safety of Canadian soil. Moreover, they are also radicalising the Canadian youth which they termed may lead to "far-reaching consequences" at the altar of short-term political expediency, wrote the group of diplomats.
Khalistani elements in Canada control a number of prominent Gurudwaras which gives them access to substantial funds, some of which are allegedly diverted to the electoral campaign of political parties especially the Liberals. They regularly hold demonstrations, rallies and other events where anti-India slogans are often raised, they said.
The list of 22 signatories:
Read the letter here:
