As diplomatic relations between India and Canada hit rock botton, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday strongly criticized Canada for applying inconsistent standards when it comes to their diplomatic relations. He highlighted the different ways in which diplomats from both nations are treated, accusing Canada of hypocrisy and selective application of their own rules.
Speaking at the ‘NDTV World Summit 2024: The India Century’, he said “So apparently, the license that they give themselves is totally different from the kind of restrictions that they impose on diplomats in Canada. When we tell them you have people openly threatening leaders of India, diplomats of India. Their answer is freedom of speech. When Indian journalists make social media comments, if you threaten the Indian High Commissioner, he is supposed to accept it as freedom of speech”.
“But if an Indian journalist says the Canadian High Commissioner walked out of South Block looking very grumpy, it is foreign interference. Even double standards are mild words for it. There is this thing that we will do differently at home. We will do it differently abroad. We will do it our way, but that doesn’t apply to you. I think these are the larger adjustments which have to happen in this changing world,” he added sarcastically, pointing to what he called ‘double standards’.
Jaishankar also touched upon the shifting dynamics between Western and non-Western countries, making a light-hearted remark about how global attention is shifting. When asked why the conversation began with Canada instead of the United States, Jaishankar laughed and said, “Some time ago, you would have said, ‘We will deal with Canada later, let’s talk about the US.’ Now for some inexplicable reason, you’re saying ‘Let’s talk about Canada first.’”
He noted that since 1945, the world order had been heavily centered around Western powers, but now, larger non-Western nations such as India and China are starting to express themselves more openly, leading to friction. “There is a rebalancing, a multipolarity… so the equations between the West and the non-West are changing, and it’s not easy to adjust to that.”
The friction between India and Canada has also been exacerbated by allegations of ‘foreign interference.’ Jaishankar pointed out that while Canada expresses concern over Indian journalists reporting on their High Commissioner, Canadian diplomats in India have no issue gathering information on military and police personnel. “Canada asked us to subject our High Commissioner to a police inquiry, and we chose to withdraw the High Commissioner and diplomats,” Jaishankar said.
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