Trouble at home, Trudeau hitting out at India

Just when one thought that the spat with Canada’s Prime Minister Trudeau couldn’t get any dirtier, it did. Not only did his officials threaten sanctions on India, but also went wailing to the ‘Five Eyes’ partners — an intelligence grouping that includes Australia, the UK, the US and New Zealand — about the alleged actions of the Indian government and its diplomatic corps.

Trudeau, battling the insecurities of a minority government and facing predictions from state intelligence about a public revolt over a dire economic situation, seems to be hitting out in all directions. India has now become a target, after he had dodged accusations about China’s meddling in the 2022 elections. A recent report by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on ‘Foreign Interference’ in Canada, while noting ‘increased’ Indian activity, also mentions China 33 times. But while Trudeau’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly has threatened sanctions on India, no such threat has been heard against China. That’s unsurprising. Exports to China were about $30 billion while imports were $89 billion on a rising curve. With India, it's just about $8.4 billion. Money talks.

Incidentally, the heavily redacted report also accuses another five or more states. Clearly countries vitally important to Canada. After a year of sitting quiet on evidence, Trudeau has escalated the matter, even as calls for his resignations increase.

He is now calling out the ‘Five Eyes’ allies in a bid to gain support. The ‘Five Eyes’ is an ‘Anglo-Saxon only’ club. Oddly, all of these countries experienced a sudden surge of ‘Khalistan’ rampages last year, which coincided with the Amritpal Singh episode in Punjab. The media ran with the story and a 2021 report of a ‘nest of spies’ by India in Australia was regurgitated. The head of Australia’s intelligence agency very properly refused to comment on it.

In the present crisis, Australia has issued a guarded statement, calling upon India to respect diplomatic immunity. Meanwhile, an Australian delegation is in Delhi for the ‘2+2’ dialogue. That’s the real world. Trouble dealt with, and then go on with the matter in hand, which is a rising China, now heavily involved in cyber espionage into Australian business and government circles.

The UK Government, while backing the Canadian judicial system, has also been circumspect. It is worth noting that Canada has issued a travel advisory to the UK, as it was rocked by far right riots against Muslims. This is a tricky time to get into religious spats for London even as its Khalistani elements react to the new ‘threat’.

New Zealand has only referred to support on the ‘alleged’ criminal activities by India.

The main issue for India is the US reaction. The Washington Post, after running a routine report, later carried a damaging story which not only quoted Canadian officials naming Home Minister Amit Shah as party to the assassination, but also directly quoted from what was supposed to be a quiet meeting with NSA Ajit Doval.

It claimed that he had first denied all knowledge of criminal Lawrence Bishnoi, accused by Canada of masterminding Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing, but later ‘rattled off’ details on Bishnoi as being a person capable of doing anything.

This is as mischievous as it gets. First, officials never quote sensitive meetings. Second, the spin on what the NSA said. It is all very unbelievable and would not have been cleared for publication without some checking with US sources in the government.

But the State Department seems to have other ideas. While its spokesperson Mathew Miller reiterated the ‘serious allegations’, he underlined that the arrival of an Indian team, led reportedly by the Deputy National Security Adviser from India on the case on Gurpatwant Singh Panun, was entirely ‘coincidental’ and had nothing to do with the Canadian charges.

In another move, the tweet that had announced the arrival of an Indian team was quietly deleted. It also appears that the R&AW officer, who initiated a reckless and mysteriously unprofessional operation to hit Pannun, has been arrested.

Trudeau’s main grouse seems to be that India is cooperating with Washington but not with Ottawa. That is unreasonable since Canada has shared no details for a year. And given its dealings with sensitive intelligence meetings, no one is going to.

Besides, consider the holes in the story. Anyone with a basic knowledge of the bureaucratic system would know that a home minister does not order around the ambassadors. It is simply not his department. And if anyone says Jaishankar ordered the killing, Canada would be the laughing stock of much of the world. The accusation that Bishnoi carried out the killing of Nijjar at the behest of Indian agencies is even stranger. Apparently, Canadian intel doesn’t read the news that Bishnoi bumped off a politician whose party was in coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

It also accuses Indian intelligence of killing a known criminal, Sukhdool Singh Gill, an alleged ally of the Bambiha gang. That murder was claimed by Bishnoi, and his group’s feud with the Bambiha group had been going on for years, with killings in both countries. Canada’s inter-gang rivalry includes not just Sikh groups but also Mexico-based cartels, among others. Strangely, Gill’s killing occurred a day after India’s National Investigation Agency marked him as a wanted terrorist.

Now, the Pannun lot has announced a $50,000 bounty for ‘tracking’ Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma. Six Air India flights have received bomb threats.

It seems that it’s time for the ‘Five Eyes’ to take a good look at those whom they have chosen to shelter. At least a warning, perhaps, is called for.