NEW DEHLI: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in India on aweek-long visit but the Indian leader Narendra Modi is not with him.
Contrary to what has been the practice of Indian PM of welcoming importantforeign leaders at the airport, receiving minister was State MinisterAgriculture Ganjendra Singh, not even External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj or her two deputies Gen VK Singh or MJ Akbar.
Not the kind of reception befitting a rockstar, said Indian media. ‘PM Modiand Sushma did not even tweet any welcome message for the Canadianpremier,’ the report added.
One reason why Trudeau has been cold shouldered is the apparent support heand his government have been giving to pro-Khalistan voices in Canada. Twoof four Sikh ministers in Trudeau’s cabinet Harjit Sajjan and Amarjit Sohihave both supported radical Khalistani elements in Canada.
The visiting PM is in Gujarat today but Modi preferred an election rally inKarnataka instead of being with Trudeau, as he was during the visits ofother world leaders like Xi Jinping, Shinzo Abe and Benjamin Netanyahu.[image: an image]Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara and PM Narendra Modi atSabarmati Ashram in Gujarat last month.
Not only this, chief ministers of Punjab and UP were ‘conspicuouslymissing’ when Trudeau visited the Golden Temple and Taj Mahal. Contrastthis with the way UP CM Yogi Adityanath rolled out the red carpet forIsraeli PM Netanyahu last month.
Canadian media too was unhappy over the treatment meted out to their primeminister.