Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s domestic compulsions often cause him to surrender his better judgment to his Sikh constituents who still nurture relations back home in Punjab. An experienced and far more mature leader would have handled these partisan pressures better, but Trudeau seems to give in far too easily.
Earlier, on a visit to India in 2018, he had frittered away a lot of goodwill by including in his delegation a known Khalistani supporter. His narrow focus on appeasing the sizable Punjabi Sikh NRIs in Toronto and Vancouver in order to retain power has yet again pushed him to comment on the internal affairs of a foreign country. His gratuitous remarks on the farmers' agitation and counsel to the authorities against the use of force has justifiably attracted a dismissive putdown from a spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Whether Prime Minister Trudeau wades into the affairs of this country without first consulting his foreign office is of little relevance. Damage done to bilateral relations nonetheless is left for his diplomats to repair. But it seems to be becoming a habit with the Canadian PM. He needs to be schooled properly in the conduct of bilateral diplomacy before he puts his foot in his mouth yet again.
Besides, he was misled into believing that there was use of excessive force against the protesting farmers. In fact, the police have maintained a hands-off approach, thus allowing them to block highways in and out of the national capital. The Canadian High Commissioner in New Delhi ought to enlighten his thoroughly misguided prime minister before he becomes a pawn in the hands of the ISI-funded Khalistani elements in his country.
