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By Arunesh Sinha
Toronto [Canada], January 14 (ANI): Canadian journalist Tahir Gora believes that outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's diplomatic row with India was a desperate attempt to garner votes, which ultimately backfired.
Trudeau's popularity had been waning due to his handling of immigration policies and the economy, and his party's trust in him had begun to erode. He raked up the diplomatic row with India only for his 'vote bank politics' which didn't work, Gora said.
In an online interview with ANI, Tahir Gora said he doesn't see the India-Canada ties improving anytime soon, irrespective of the results of the next general elections due later this year.
"Justin Trudeau lost his popularity and I mean this is his third term and in Canada, no political party or its leadership can continue its popularity. So, this is the one biggest reason that after 10 years tenure, he lost his popularity because of bad immigration policies as well as the economic situation here in Canada," Gora said.
Gora pointed out that Trudeau's resignation announcement was a result of his own party's mistrust, with over 100 MPs showing their dissatisfaction with his leadership. The Liberal Party's chances of retaining power seem slim, with the Conservative Party leading in polls.
"So, he lost trust within his own party. More than 100 MPs from his own party showed mistrust of him. So, that is the main reason he had to announce his intent to resign. He has not resigned yet. He said that I was showing my intent to resign until the new party leader gets elected."
Earlier this month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he would resign as leader of the Liberal Party and as Prime Minister as soon as a new candidate is found for the post. He said that the Canadian Parliament would be prorogued or suspended until March 24.
Tahir Gora believes that even the Conservative Party, despite being ahead in polls, is "not very clear" with its policies, because of which the whole of Canadian politics is in "trouble."
"I must say that it's difficult for Canada because Canadian politics is in trouble and our Conservative Party, they are showing a lead in polls but their policies are not very clear as well. So, I mean, Canada is in trouble, I must say, because of our bad immigration policies as well as our economic situation as well as our foreign policy because Canada's foreign policy is also not very appreciated by the rest of the world," he said.
Speaking on the possible successor of Justin Trudeau in the Liberal Party, the senior journalist pointed out the names of former Bank of Canada Governor, Mark Carney and former Deputy Prime Minister Christia Freeland.
He, however, also pointed out that whoever succeeds Trudeau in the role, will effectively be a "scapegoat" and will be the Prime Minister only for a couple of weeks or months, and won't be able to survive because of the "very bad baggage" coming from Trudeau's politics.
"Of course, Conservatives are good in poll numbers. They are roughly 20 to 30 points higher than the Liberal Party and the Liberal Party is to have a new leader now. And at this moment, I would say it's going to be scapegoat. Whoever gets elected as the new leader would be Prime Minister maybe for a week, for a couple of weeks, for one month, two months...So, the Liberal Party is in really, really bad shape. Whoever becomes the leader of the party and as well as the Prime Minister in the term, I would say, the interim Prime Minister of Canada would not be able to survive the Liberal Party because the Liberal Party has, very bad baggage coming from Trudeau's policies," Tahir Gora said.
He added, "So, in that situation, I would say Mark Carney, who happened to be the state bank governor in Canada, is the leading candidate so far for the leadership race. And then Ms Chrystia Freeland and also one gentleman, Chandra Arya, who is a Liberal MP, who comes from Indian background. He talks a lot about Hindu civilization and also he denounces Khalistanis openly and candidly. So, Chandra Arya is also showing his willingness to come in the race."
Speaking on the New Democratic Party of Jagemeet Singh, Tahir Gora said the party has been "deteriorated" by its leader Singh and it needs to "get rid of him" if it intends to revive. He further said whether the current Liberal government will fall or not, will depend on NDP's vote, which makes Jagmeet Singh a "key player" in the current scenario.
"NDP has been, deteriorated by his leader, Jagmeet Singh, for sure. And NDP has to revive and in order to revive, they need to get rid of Jagmeet Singh. So, Jagmeet Singh at the moment is the key player...because there is no vote of confidence at the moment," Gora said.
Being asked about what would be the impact on India-Canada ties under a Conservative government in Ottawa, Tahir Gora presented a grim picture, saying he doesn't see the ties, which are "already at the lowest point," getting repaired in the near future.
"Well, I don't see any hope in terms of smooth relationships between both countries because the political narrative against India has been so obsessive in Canadian politics. None of the parties, even in the near future, if forced to repair the relationship with India because they would be, sort of, quote-unquote, unpopular. I would clearly say at the moment, the relationship with India is not on Canadian radar and the relationship with India is not going to deteriorate. It's already at the lowest point," he said.
Notably, India's ties with Canada have seen sharp deterioration with India repeatedly expressing its deep concern about extremism and the culture of violence and anti-India activities in Canada and has asked Canadian authorities to take action against these activities.
The diplomatic row erupted after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau claimed that he has "credible allegations" of India's hand in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada last year.
India has denied all the allegations, calling them "absurd" and "motivated" and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country.
The senior journalist also stated that the primary concern for the Canadian leadership, irrespective of who wins the next elections, would be to navigate against the Donald Trump presidency in the United States, from where it will be facing a "lot of heat and pressure."
"So, let's assume if Liberal retains the power and if they get elected, so their issue, primarily issue would be handling Donald Trump at the moment, not India. Justin Trudeau played the India card for his ethnic vote banks. It didn't work out. So, at the moment, they cannot orchestrate their bad relations with India. Now, they have to manage their issues with America under the leadership of President-elect Donald Trump," Gora further said.
He added, "As the polls suggest here in Canada Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party won't be able to get into the next government. So, let's say Conservatives come into power. So, Conservatives' biggest challenge also would be, sort of making good relations with the United States because India is at the moment out of radar."
Regarding the Khalistani extremism, which has been quite rampant in Canada inviting strong objections from New Delhi, the senior journalist said even the Conservative party has associations with the Khalistani extremists. He added that the situation will remain so, "for decades" because of the strong influence of the Khalistani elements in the whole Canadian system.
"Mr Pierre Poilievre, who is a Conservative leader at the moment, who would be the Prime Minister if they get elected. He met Khalistani leaders many times. In his own caucus, Khalistani sympathizers are there. So, I mean, the Khalistani issue is not only linked with Trudeau only or Pierre Polivar only. It's coming from a long, long time. Just recall the Air India bombing issue, for instance," he said.
He added, "Khalistani elements are quite vocal, powerful here in Canada. If India wishes to diminish those issues in Canada, those issues would not go away. Those issues, we Canadians have been facing for a long, long time. And I can tell you, we will be rather facing those issues in the coming decades. Because Khalistanis have their people in the system, in politics, in law enforcement, in media, in think tanks."
The tensions further escalated last year when India recalled six diplomats from Canada after they were declared "persons of interest" by the Canadian government in the investigation into the killing of NIA-designated Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Nijjar was killed outside the Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18 last year.
Tahir Gora, however, also asserted that the Khalistani issue, which he said is associated with the "glorification of terrorism" is not India's problem anymore and is very much a Canadian problem now, as it is linked to the high number of gang-related crimes in the country.
"First of all, I would say Khalistan is not India's issue anymore. It is Canada's problem...I see that sort of a Khalistani movement, quote-unquote, associated with the glorification of terrorism, associated with the acts of terrorism here in Canada. In my humble suggestion, India should not worry about Khalistani issues here in Canada. It is a Canadian issue. So many gang-related issues, so many other crimes are related with the Khalistani issue now," the senior journalist said. (ANI)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
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