Canadian Leaders’ Remarks on Farmer Protests ‘Ill-Informed’: MEA

The MEA spokesperson also called comments made by some Canadian leaders in support of farmer protests ‘unwarranted.’

File image of MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava

Photo Courtesy: Twitter (@ANI)

Several hours after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s remarks on the ongoing farmer protests, the spokesperson for Ministry of External Affairs, Anurag Srivastava, on Tuesday, 1 December, said that some comments made by Canadian leaders were “ill-informed” and “unwarranted, especially when pertaining to internal affairs of a democratic country.”

“We've seen some ill-informed comments by Canadian leaders relating to farmers in India. These are unwarranted especially when pertaining to internal affairs of a democratic country. It's also best that diplomatic conversations aren't misrepresented for political purposes.” Srivastava told ANI.

Besides Srivastava, Shiv Sena’s deputy leader Priyanka Chaturvedi was also of the opinion that the farmers protests were India’s “internal issue”, which means they do not warrant an opinion from other world leaders.

Canadian Prime Minister is the first international head of government to speak out in support of the farmers protest against the NDA-government’s newly introduced agriculture laws.

Trudeau Supports Farmers’ Protest

On the occasion of Guru Nanak Dev’s 551st birth anniversary, Trudeau put out a video to wish Canadian citizens, particularly the followers of Sikhism, and said “I would be remiss if I didn’t start by recognising the news coming from India about the protest by farmers.”

He further said, “The situation is concerning. We are all very worried about family and friends. We know that’s a reality for many of you. Let me remind you, Canada will always be there to defend the rights of peaceful protesters. We believe in the process of dialogue.”

However, Trudeau is not the first Canadian political figure to raise his voice for the protesting farmers. The New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the opposition Andrea Horwath, Members of Ontario's Provincial Parliament Gurratan Singh, Kevin Yarde, Sara Singh and Jack Harris have also spoke out against the Modi-government.

Shiv Sena’s Leader Responds to Trudeau

Shiv Sena deputy leader Chaturvedi also expressed her disapproval of the Canadian PM’s comments, saying that “India’s internal issue is not fodder for another nation’s politics.”

In a tweet mentioning Trudeau and urging PM Narendra Modi, she wrote, “Pls respect the courtesies that we always extend to other nations. Request PM @narendramodi ji to resolve this impasse before other countries find it okay to opine (sic).”

The agriculture laws that were passed in September 2020 have sparked protests in and around the national capital, as farmers feel that the laws are inherently anti-farmer in nature, as they take away the minimum support price (MSP) for their produce and aid private interests to infringe on their markets.

(With inputs from ANI and NDTV)