With India and Canada locked in a diplomatic duel over the activities of separatist Khalistanis and alleged Indian interference in Canada, Shinder Purewal, professor of political science at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, British Columbia, Canada, and an expert on secessionist and terrorist movements of South Asia, spoke with TOI about the bilateral row:
Q: What is Justin Trudeau’s game plan? Why did he escalate matters with India on the basis of allegations?
A: Trudeau’s party came under tremendous pressure on the charges related to Chinese interference in Canadian politics, which benefited his Liberal Party. The same Canadian intelligence, which apparently has ‘human and signals intel’ of Indian interference, was feeding the media stories about Chinese interference. After Trudeau exhausted all channels to bury the Chinese interference issue, public pressure forced him to order a public inquiry. That public inquiry has now been mandated to study interference by China, Russia and other countries.
Q: What is Justin Trudeau’s game plan? Why did he escalate matters with India on the basis of allegations?
A: Trudeau’s party came under tremendous pressure on the charges related to Chinese interference in Canadian politics, which benefited his Liberal Party. The same Canadian intelligence, which apparently has ‘human and signals intel’ of Indian interference, was feeding the media stories about Chinese interference. After Trudeau exhausted all channels to bury the Chinese interference issue, public pressure forced him to order a public inquiry. That public inquiry has now been mandated to study interference by China, Russia and other countries.