Trudeau stays firm on comments on farmer protests amid row with India

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on Friday reiterated his stance on farmer protests in India amidst worsening ties with New Delhi.

In response to a question, he said,"Canada will always stand up for right of peaceful protest anywhere around the world. We are pleased to see moves towards deescalation and dialogue".

Asked if he was worried about his comments damaging ties between India and Canada, he said,"Canada will always stand up for right of peaceful protest and human rights around the world".

Earlier this week Justin Trudeau expressed his "concerns" over the farmers' protests irking New Delhi.

India has strongly reacted to the remarks. In an unprecedented move, Ministry of External Affairs on Friday summoned Canada's envoy Nadir Patel and handed over a demarche as a consequence of the remarks.

The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said remarks by the Canadian PM and Canadian cabinet members and members of Parliament "constitute an unacceptable interference in our internal affairs" and "such actions, if continued, would have a seriously damaging impact on ties between India and Canada."

Canada has a large number of members of the Indian diaspora, many from the northern Indian state of Punjab. A fringe element, is known to have supported the cause of Khalistan, a separate homeland for Sikh, and perpetrated number of terror attacks.

This is not the first time, Canadian PM has landed himself into trouble with Delhi. In 2017, he was present at the Khalsa Day parade that drEW extremist elements. In 2018, during his week-long India visit, convicted Khalistani terrorist Jaspal Atwal's presence at a reception drew criticism.