Farmers protests: Indian ex-ambassadors’ group writes open letter on Canada’s vote bank politics | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s comments on farmers agitation in India were “uncalled for”, “disconnected with ground realities” and “served merely to fan the flames” said a group of former Indian Ambassadors on Monday in a hard-worded open letter condemning what they termed as “vote bank politics in Canada”.
Interacting with the Sikh community last week, on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau waded into controversy with his comments on farmers protests in India. Trudeau had said, the “situation is concerning, and we’re all very worried about family and friends.”
“Such blatant interference in India’s internal affairs to appease a section of the Liberal party’s voter base is completely unacceptable and cannot but cast a long shadow on bilateral relations,” read the open letter.
The farmers in India have been protesting for more than two weeks now demanding the repeal of the new farm laws and want a new law to guarantee them the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
The letter, signed by at least 22 retired diplomats, however, underlined that Canada’s support to the Indian farmers’ demand for MSP contradicts the stance it took in the WTO where Canada was one of the most strident critics of India’s MSP system.
Ex-diplomats said that Ottawa conveniently ignored that the Indian government has, in good faith, been holding talks at ministerial level with the representatives of agitating farmers.
The letter said that while Canadian investment in India is well-positioned to scale up, “Yet the fact remains that not unoften, bilateral political equations develop stress, due to the propensity of certain Canadian political parties and leaders to engage in vote bank politics.”
The letter also condemned Canada’s indifference towards the separatist and violent Khalistani elements who “carry out anti-India activities, from the safety of the Canadian soil.”
“They (Khalistanis) are also radicalising the Canadian youth with far-reaching consequences, which is being ignored at the altar of short-term political expediency,” said the letter.
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, said the former diplomats.
The nearly 2 million strong Indian diaspora comprises over 5 per cent of the Canadian population, of which the Sikh community is close to 700,000.