Ottawa: The controversy over unconfirmed reports and claims that Justin Trudeau's plane was "full of cocaine" on the Canadian Prime Minister's visit to India during the recently concluded G20 Summit in New Delhi has become a topic of discussion and debate in Canada too as the Toronto Sun, a news portal, published a report on the allegations made by a former Indian diplomat. However, the portal also came under heavy criticism from journalist Evan Dyer of CBC, who lambasted at the portal for "publishing" such an article.
"I was on this plane, present at both the aborted & final departures. No agent or dog set foot on board. Postmedia did not send a reporter on this trip, instead relying on non-credible rumours. This is a low for Cdn journalism. It’s embarrassing that it was published (sic)," said the journalist in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
What are the "cocaine on plane" allegations and who made them?
Ex-Indian Diplomat Deepak Vohra, in an interview, claimed that Trudeau's plane was "full of cocaine" and suggested that the Canadian Prime Minister had skipped President's G20 dinner event as he was "high" and not in his senses. The claims soon became a topic of discussion, with many netizens wondering if there were any links between the claims by diplomats and the Canadian Prime Minister's plane developing a snag and Trudeau's delayed departure from India.
Canadian Prime Minister's Office dismisses rumours
The Canadian Prime Minister’s Office dismissed the claims made by the former Indian diplomat, who attributed the claims that Trudeau's plane was "full of cocaine" during the recently concluded G20 meeting in New Delhi.
EAM S Jaishankar to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, amid the diplomatic standoff between India and Canada over the killing of a Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The latest diplomatic crisis between India and Canada, both countries friendly to America and important for the Washinton from a strategic point of view, is expected to come up prominently during the talks.
"Issue didn't come up during meeting"
On being asked if the issue of Canadian allegations were raised during talks between EAM Dr S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, "That was not a bilateral meeting. It was a meeting of a number of countries. Did not come up in that meeting. We have engaged with our Indian counterparts on this issue and urged them to fully cooperate with the Canadian investigation. As we have made clear, we have raised this. We have engaged with our Indian counter on this and encouraged them to cooperate with the Canadian investigation and we continue to encourage them to cooperate," he said.
India-Canada tensions
Relations between India and Canada deteriorated after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's comments in the House of Commons that there was evidence to suggest that there were links between killing of Khalistan extremist and militant outfit leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar and "agents of Indian government." India hit back by calling the claims "absurd" and a slew of diplomatic measures.
