India’s tough stand forced Trudeau to soften his rhetoric

New Delhi:  The Narendra Modi-led government’s tough stand against foreign interference in India’s domestic affairs forced Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to mellow his rhetoric and support to the ongoing farmers’ agitation.
Last week, Trudeau had extended his support to India’s farm protests, claiming that the situation was “concerning” and Canadians were “all very worried about family and friends” in Punjab.
Sources in Toronto told IANS that soon after the Modi government summoned the Canadian High Commissioner in New Delhi over Trudeau’s remarks and Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar announced that he will skip the Canada-led Ministerial Coordination Group on COVID-19 (MCGC), panic struck in the government circles in Canada.
The Indian government had sent a clear message that such behaviour will affect the bilateral trade as it has already happened under the Trudeau government.
The bilateral trade between India and Canada declined by around $1 billion from 2017-18 to 2018-19 after Trudeau’s pro-Khalistani approach.
Bilateral trade between India and Canada was worth $7.23 billion in 2017-18.