Amid diplomatic row, India to host Canadian speaker Raymonde Gagne at G20 Parliament Speakers’ Summit next week

Amid an escalating diplomatic row over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June, the Canadian speaker of the Senate is due to visit New Delhi soon, when India hosts the Parliament-20 meeting of the G20 nations’ presiding officers in the national capital next week. India will raise all issues with the Canadian speaker of the Senate during the upcoming Parliament-20 meeting of the G20 nations’ presiding officers, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Friday. The presiding officers of 25 countries and 10 deputy speakers from the G20 member nations and invitee countries are expected to attend the P20 Summit that will be held at the India International Convention and Expo Centre – Yashobhoomi – at Dwarka from October 12 to 14. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) on October 13. Canada will be represented at the P20 Summit by Speaker of the Senate Raymonde Gagne. India’s relations with Canada have been under severe strain after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linked Indian agents to the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June. “We will discuss issues that have been listed for the summit. Other issues will be discussed informally,” Birla said when asked whether the matter of using the Canadian Parliament to level allegations against India will be raised with the Canadian presiding officer. More than 350 delegates are expected to attend the three-day summit that will see the participation of 50 members of Parliament, 14 general secretaries, 26 vice-presidents, the International Parliamentary Union president and the president of the Pan-African Parliament. “The main theme of the 9th P20 is proposed to be ‘Parliaments for One Earth, One Family, One Future”," Birla told a press conference in Delhi. The P20 Summit will have four sessions on “Transformation in People’s Lives through Public Digital Platforms”, “Women-led Development”, “Accelerating SDGs” and “Sustainable Energy Transition”, he said. “A pre-summit event, namely Parliamentary Forum on Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE), will be held on October 12 at Yashobhoomi. An exhibition titled ‘Mother of Democracy’ will also be organised to highlight India’s ancient and participative democratic traditions,” Birla said. The P20 delegates will also be taken on a tour of the new Parliament house, followed by a cultural evening and dinner hosted by the speaker.