POLITICALLY SENSITIVE
Carney mentioned it was a “nice honour” to welcome Modi to the G7 summit however made a passing allusion to the domestically delicate row with a reference to “transnational repression.”
Carney mentioned he hoped to work with India on “the problems that we glance to sort out collectively, from vitality safety … the way forward for synthetic intelligence, to the battle that we now have in opposition to transnational repression and in opposition to terrorism.”
Sikh protesters rallied on the streets of Calgary, the closest massive metropolis to the summit, as many criticised Carney’s inclusion of Modi, who’s accustomed to invites to main worldwide gatherings regardless of criticism of his Hindu nationalist authorities’s human rights file.
The left-wing New Democratic Get together, the fourth largest social gathering in parliament which isn’t formally a part of Carney’s authorities, denounced the invitation to Modi and pointed to allegations of Indian surveillance in opposition to its former chief Jagmeet Singh, who’s Sikh.
“Persevering with to have interaction Modi’s authorities with out accountability undermines all efforts to defend human rights, transparency, and the rule of regulation,” it mentioned in a press release earlier than the go to.
Canada is dwelling to the biggest Sikh inhabitants exterior India. With some 2 per cent of the Canadian inhabitants and clustered in suburban swing areas, the neighborhood has exerted rising political affect.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a naturalised Canadian citizen who advocated for an unbiased Sikh state referred to as Khalistan, was shot lifeless within the car parking zone of a Sikh temple in British Columbia in 2023.
Trudeau accused India of direct involvement. Canada has accused India of directing a broad marketing campaign of intimidation in opposition to Sikh activists within the nation.
India denied involvement within the killing and mentioned Canada ought to take extra motion in opposition to violent advocates for Khalistan, which has been lowered to a fringe motion inside India.
The US, which has a heat relationship with India, additionally accused an Indian agent of involvement in an unsuccessful plot in opposition to a Sikh separatist on US soil however addressed issues extra quietly than Trudeau.
