Justin Trudeau lends support to farmers' protests in Delhi; comments 'ill-informed', says MEA

Expressing concern over the ongoing farmers’ protest in India, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said that his country will always be there to defend the right of peaceful protest. Trudeau, the first world leader to voice his views on the issue, made the remarks while addressing the Indian community in Canada during an online event to mark the 551st birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. Trudeau said he would be remiss if he didn’t recognise the “news coming out of India about the protest by farmers.” “The situation is concerning and we are all very worried about family and friends and I know that is a reality for many of you,” Trudeau said in the video posted on his Twitter account. “Let me remind you, Canada will always be there to defend the right of peaceful protest. We believe in importance of dialogue and that is why we have reached out through multiple means directly to Indian authorities to highlight our concerns,” he said. He said that this was a moment for all to pull together because of COVID-19 and because of everything else as well. “We are going to be there to continue to work together as we are there to help each other,” he said. Canada is home to a large number of Indian migrants, mostly from Punjab. Trudeau’s statements elicited a sharp response from the Ministry of External Affairs, which called his comments ‘ill-informed.’ The Indian external affairs ministry was  quoted by NDTV as saying, “We’ve seen some ill-informed comments by Canadian leaders relating to farmers in India. These are unwarranted especially when pertaining to internal affairs of a democratic country. It’s also best that diplomatic conversations aren’t misrepresented for political purposes.” Thousands of farmers stayed put at various Delhi border points for the sixth consecutive day on Tuesday protesting against the new farm laws, which they fear will dismantle the minimum support price system and corporatise farming. The farmer unions on Tuesday decided to attend a meeting with the government after they were invited by agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar for talks, two days ahead of a scheduled meeting. With inputs from PTI