Terrorists, separatists, and anti-India elements are taking shelter in Canada : EAM Dr S Jaishankar

New Delhi – External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar recently came down heavily on Canada. He said, ‘They (Canada) keep telling us that we are a democracy. There is freedom of speech and, therefore, people say these things. Freedom of speech cannot extend to intimidating diplomats who are doing their duty. Throwing smoke bombs on embassies and consulates and advocating violence and separatism against a friendly state is not freedom of speech, this is a misuse of freedom of speech. He added that Canada has given shelter to terrorists, separatists, and anti-India elements, which is the biggest issue for India regarding Canada. He was speaking at a summit called ‘Rise of the Global South’ organised by a news channel.

Canada did not cooperate

Jaishankar further said that the culprits involved in these attacks must be brought to book. Last year in the UK, we saw our High Commission being attacked by mobs and honestly, we did not get the kind of protection which we expected to get. Things have improved in the UK. We expect action against the culprits involved in last year’s attacks on our diplomatic premises in London, San Francisco and Ottawa, among other cities. India had to suspend the issuance of visas in Canada because Indian diplomats were not safe going to work. We got very little comfort from the Canadian system at that time.

The India-China border cannot be kept safe without the proper infrastructure in the border areas

Regarding the strained relations between India and China, the EAM said that Prime Minister Modi visited China’s Wuhan in 2018. Later, Xi Jinping visited India in 2019. We had tried to normalise relations with China through diplomacy. Later in 2020, China violated the rules by building infrastructure for its soldiers and increasing the number of soldiers along the Line of Actual Control. After this, we are left with only one option. We also increased the strength of Indian troops near the Line of Actual Control. This affected the political relations between the two countries.

He further said that in 2014, an annual budget of ₹ 3,500 crore was allocated for expenditures at Line of Actual Control. Today it is close to ₹ 15,000 crores. Previously, border infrastructure had received little attention, but the border cannot be secured unless there is infrastructure.