NEW DELHI: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be the last G20 leader to leave Delhi. Not because he had anything lined up but because his aircraft developed a technical snag. A replacement aircraft is scheduled to fly him back.
Trudeau, it is learnt, didn't step out of the hotel the entire day.
"These issues are not fixable overnight, our delegation will be staying in India until alternate arrangements are made," a statement from Trudeau’s office said.
In his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India raised the issue of Khalistani extremists in Canada who were attacking places of worship and threatening Indian diplomats.
PM Modi conveyed "strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada".
Trudeau said that while he doesn’t support violence, he believed in freedom of speech and wouldn’t stop people from protesting.
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“Obviously Canada will always defend freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, peaceful protest. That’s something that’s extremely important to us. At the same time as we are always there to prevent violence, to push back against hatred. It’s important to remember that the actions of the few do not represent the entire community or Canada," Trudeau had said in a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Delhi.
Before he left for India, he had voiced his unhappiness over Volodomyr Zelenskky not being invited for the G20, which Russia is a part of.
Trudeau, government staff and journalists travelling with the Prime Minister were set to leave India on Sunday night after the G20 summit.
Separatist groups seeking a homeland for Sikhs have organised a referendum in Canada asking the diaspora there whether regions of India in which their community is in the majority should be independent.
India has characterised a June protest outside its High Commission in Ottawa — the equivalent of an embassy — as an “attack” and its anti-terror agency is investigating the incident.
Last week, Canada launched a public inquiry into foreign interference in recent national elections, focusing on China, Russia and other state and non-state actors. Trudeau’s national security adviser Jody Thomas has said India is a major source of foreign meddling in Canada.
