Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau on 18th September started a diplomatic row with his allegations of the involvement of Indian Agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. He alleged that there was a potential involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar’s killing.
Image Source : Mint
India boldly dismissed the allegations and said that the accusations were ridiculous and politically motivated. An Indian official was expelled from the office, in connection with the incident, in Ottawa, in retaliation India expelled a high ranking Canadian Diplomat.
In reaction to Trudeau’s allegations , India temporarily stopped its visa services in Canada. India has also issued a precautionary advisory to its travellers going to Canada, telling them to follow extreme caution while travelling to Canada, due to the rising anti-India activities.
EAM Jaishankar’s response on Canada-India issue
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed that Canada hasn’t shared something specific to support its accusations that India was involved in the killing. In an interview in Washington, Jaishankar said that India is ready to look into the information related to Canada’s accusations of the potential involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar’s killing.
He said that the issue is that Canadians made some accusations. India pointed out to them and informed that this is not the policy of government of India , but if they are ready to share the specifics and relevant things then India is also open to look into it. So it is where the matter stands.
Is Canadian PM Trudeau’s popularity declining?
The question arising is that why did Trudeau went on to put up accusations against India without even providing any relevant proof or evidence to support his allegations? Is his popularity declining in his country? A report by The Economist stated that Trudeau is facing a lot of problems that are affecting his popularity and his political stature.
His popularity and approval ratings have fallen down to 27% which is the lowest till now. Domestic as well as foreign factors have affected Trudeau’s popularity. Looking at the domestic side, most of the middle class Canadians are dissatisfied with Trudeau due to the rising housing prices. Many of them feel economically drained , buying a home in Canada is one of the most difficult and challenging things. The home price to income ratio has increased at a fast pace since Trudeau came to power.
Migration policies too have created discontent among the Canadians. Trudeau’s vision of increasing immigration has not been welcomed greatly due to the housing challenges in the country. Canada’s health care system is also facing problems, with a shortage of family doctors and medical equipments. There is a growing discontent among Canadians because of the degrading quality of medical facilities.
Looking at the global side, Trudeau’s foreign policies too are not effective. Canada’s NATO allies are not happy as it spends only 1.29% of its GDP on defense. The country’s relations with China too have deteriorated as two Canadians were arrested in 2018 for three years on the charges of espionage, as per a report by the Economist.
Trudeau is facing domestic protests especially from the right wing and his inability to combat these challenges have contributed in his declining popularity.
