Why Canada should better safeguard its own future and not fall for vile politics of Trudeau

That India – Canada relations has witnessed a downhill curve in the last few years is no secret; that the primary bone of contention here has been Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s soft, indulgent approach towards pro-Khalistan terror groups operating out of Canada, is equally well known. Yet, nobody had imagined the crisis to escalate to the present levels within days, the way it did after Trudeau launched a full-scale diplomatic war on India by alleging that Indian agents were responsible for the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani terrorist, on Canadian soil. Following Trudeau’s charges, Canada expelled the head of Indian intelligence in that country, Pavan Kumar Rai. India retaliated strongly by expelling a senior Canadian diplomat, Olivier Sylvester. The Modi government rejected Canada’s allegations and called the charges levelled by Trudeau “absurd and motivated”. Delhi then came up with a strong “advisory” for its nationals and students in Canada, reminding them of “the deteriorating security environment” in Canada, besides advising them “to exercise extreme caution and remain vigilant”. This was followed by India calling Canada a safe haven for terrorists and the cancellation of visa services to Canadians travelling to India. Past Imperfect Future Tense It goes without saying that the sudden escalation of the crisis has surprised many but for those who have followed Canada’s politics from the 1980s, the present crisis was inevitable. Rather it was waiting to happen. Trudeau’s irresponsible and reckless normalisation of Khalistan forces in Canada, only precipitated the crisis. The seeds of this crisis have however been sown in Canada since the late 1970s with almost every political party there guilty of indulgence for their vested gains. It was in 1982 that the then Canadian government refused to entertain Indira Gandhi’s request to extradite Khalistan extremist Talwinder Parmar on charges of murder. The then PM of Canada was Justin’s father, Pierre Trudeau. In the ghastly 1985 Kanisha Air India mid-air bombing that resulted in 329 deaths, Parmar was the key conspirator. A year earlier, Parmar is said to have been vocal about his plans to “blow off Indian planes” mid air. The brazen complicity of Trudeau senior is what had set Canada on the path of appeasement of terror groups. Justin Trudeau has only taken the legacy forward with a shameless air of entitlement. Jagmeet Singh Factor Trudeau got into a semi-alliance with arch-rival Jagmeet Singh’s New Democratic Party in early 2022. Jagmeet Singh has been a vocal Khalistan sympathiser. With this deal, at least on the issue of Khalistan terror, Trudeau has little option but to tread Jagmeet Singh’s line for his survival. It was Jagmeet Singh’s party that is believed to have pinned Trudeau down to nail India for Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder. Trudeau should have, of course, done better home-work to gauge the repercussions of this blunder. Hence, Trudeau, in order to extend his own political survival, has risked Canada’s equity globally. This is also the time when Canadian voters are particularly unhappy with Trudeau’s performance and his ratings are at an all time low. The fragile ground situation in Canada and the levels of Hindu-hate prevailing there, was best exposed by Trudeau’s own party MP, Chandra Arya who brought out a video highlighting the grim situation. In the video, Arya says, “There would be an outrage in Canada if a white supremist attacked any group of racialised Canadians asking them to get out of our country. But apparently this Khalistani leader (Gurpatwant Singh Pannun) can get away with this hate crime. Hindu Canadians keep a low profile and are considered soft targets. The anti-Hindu elements cannot digest the success of Hindu-Canadians. Two well-organised groups claiming to represent their faiths have been attacking Hindu-Canadian community leaders, Hindu organisations and even me. For over ten months, I have been attacked for raising a flag with our Hindu religious sacred symbol Aum on our parliament hill…” Arya’s video is no less a direct attack on Trudeau exposing his inaction. This sentiment finds resonance among large sections of Canadians. Thus, Trudeau’s move to take an anti-India stance seems to have been borrowed from Pakistan’s playbook to deflect attention from his own failures. Every time that Pakistan was caught shielding and nurturing terror groups, it would retaliate by mounting its attack on India. Trudeau ought to have learnt his lessons from Pakistan’s decline, rather he has aped Pakistan’s vile ways, precipitating Canada’s decline. Why it was important for India to act tough Justin Trudeau is a slow learner with poor intent. Over the last 6-7 years, India had repeatedly made its discomfort over increasing Khalistan activities known to Canada. Trudeau remained callously defiant. If he had political maturity, he would have initiated a course correction at least after seeing Pakistan’s global ostracisation in past years. India has suffered for decades by following a soft approach towards Pakistan terror. Canada today is where Pakistan was in the 1980s. We can’t afford to repeat the same mistakes now. If Canada does not clamp down on the terror groups operating on its soil now, the world would be risking heavy casualties in future. Trudeau’s myopic political interests should not be allowed to mar his country’s future, given the significant percentage of immigrants who have made Canada their home in recent decades. In history, seldom has a country that bred poisonous snakes in its backyard, not been bitten by the same snakes. Unlike the previous Indian governments, the Modi government does not believe in ignoring problems till they go out of hand. India has suffered heavy casualties by Khalistan terror including the loss of a PM and a Punjab CM. Hence, there can be no compromise on the issue of national security. It was important to send a firm message to Canada. This is a message not just to Trudeau, but almost to Canada’s New Democratic Party. Canada, as a country and NDP as a political party there, will have to think beyond Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh respectively, if the country wants to retain global goodwill. There can’t be any space for terror-supporters in a progressive, unified world. Canada is at an important inflection point . It needs to make its choices clear. It needs to redeem itself for all those Canadians and well wishers of Canada worldwide, who don’t subscribe to Trudeau’s vile politics. In hindsight, the people of Canada will be grateful to India for providing their beautiful nation a clarity that will safeguard their own future. The writer is the national spokesperson of BJP. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .