Amidst a diplomatic standoff with Canada, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Thursday that while freedom of speech is essential, it does not extend to endorsing separatism. In an interview with PTI, Jaishankar underscored concerns regarding Canada's tolerance of Kalistani separatist elements, implying that political expediency appeared to override adherence to the rule of law.
"We cannot, for the good relations, overlook that," Jaishankar asserted.
"It is not so much a question of running out of options. What we have seen, to our regret, has been the direction of Canadian politics, where separatists and extremist forces, many of whom openly advocate violence, have been given political space in that country. And there are people in positions of prominence today in Canadian politics who actually espouse that kind of separatism and extremism," he told PTI.
"Whenever we have taken this up with the Canadians.. it is not a new issue... It has been going on almost for ten years, and they keep saying, oh 'we have freedom of speech," Jaishankar added.
Jaishankar questioned Canada's vetting process, expressing bewilderment at how persons with dubious backgrounds could gain entry and residency.
"If you have people whose presence there is itself on very dubious documents, what does it say about you? It actually says that your vote bank is more powerful than your rule of law," Jaishankar remarked.
"In any rules-based society, you would imagine that you would check people's background, how they came, what passport they carried, etc," the minister added.
Canada's response to India's concerns, according to Jaishankar, repeatedly cited freedom of speech as justification. However, he stressed that freedom of speech should not extend to threatening foreign diplomats or providing platforms to individuals associated with criminal activities.
Canada's Immigration Minister Marc Miller had defended his country's stance, asserting Jaishankar's right to his opinion. Foreign Minister Melanie Joly had reaffirmed Canada's commitment to safeguarding its citizens and stood by allegations of Indian involvement in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India, however, reiterated on Thursday that Canada had provided no evidence to support its claims.
“No specific or relevant evidence or information has been shared by the Canadian authorities to date,” MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in response to a query had said.
“You will therefore understand our view that the matter is being pre-judged. Obviously, there are political interests at work,” he added.
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