New Delhi, February 23: Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not explicitly name the Khalistan movement or Canada’s alleged soft approach towards Sikh separatism, he said religion should not be used for promoting disintegration of any nation. In his joint statement with Canadian counterpart, Modi said, "There should be no space for those who misuse religion for political motives and promote separatism. We will not tolerate those who challenge unity and integrity of our countries".

PM Modi’s remark comes in the backdrop over criticism of the Trudeau government’s alleged soft approach towards the Khalistan issue and a dinner invitation to convicted Khalistani terrorist Jaspal Atwal by the Canadian High Commissioner to India.

The invitation embarrassed Canadian diplomats and forced them to rescind it after the matter made headlines in global and domestic publications.

Jaspal Atwal controversy

On Tuesday, Atwal created a controversy after being photographed with Sophie, the wife of Justin Trudeau, during an event in Mumbai.

Atwal, who was a member of the now-banned International Sikh Youth Federation, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the assassination attempt of the then Punjab cabinet minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu in 1986 at Vancouver Island.

Apart from cancelling Atwal's invitation to the dinner hosted by Canadian embassy on Thursday, Trudeau assured a probe into the matter, saying, "Action would be taken against the erring officials".

Trudeau’s India’s visit rated as lacklustre

Trudeau’s visit to India has been rated as lacklustre by domestic and global publications which claimed that the Indian side was not enthusiastic towards hosting him. Analysts also opined that the lukewarm response shown by New Delhi is in retaliation to Toronto’s soft approach towards “pro-khalistani elements” in Canada.

Foreign policy analyst C. Raja Mohan, in his column in the Indian Express  had expressed concern over the fact that Trudeau’s visit could possibly end up intensifying the problem, and turn out to be “the worst diplomatic disaster in India since Queen Elizabeth’s visit in 1997”.

Punjab CM's meeting's with Trudeau

On Wednesday, a meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh took place at Amritsar. In a 40-minute meeting, Singh urged Trudeau to initiate stern action against ‘radical elements’. Singh accused Five Ministers in Trudeau’s cabinet of supporting the Khalistan movement.

Punjab CM meets Trudeau (Image: PTI)

Earlier, Amarinder Singh had also denied meeting Canada’s Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who came to India last year for his alleged links to Sikh separatists. During the meeting, Singh handed Trudeau a list of nine Canada-based operatives allegedly involved in promoting radicalism here as the 'Khalistan' issue featured prominently in the talks between the two leaders.

PM Modi says, ‘We will not tolerate those who challenge unity and integrity of our countries’

While addressing joint press meet with the Canadian PM, Prime Minister Modi said that any attempts to challenge India's sovereignty and unity will not be tolerated.  "There should be no space for those who misuse religion for political motives and promote separatism. We will not tolerate those who challenge unity and integrity of our countries," he said.  The two leaders agreed on the importance of strengthening cooperation between across various sectors, with Singh expressing Punjab’s keenness to engage with Canada on higher education, scientific research, technology, innovation and skill development.

Modi said Canada is an important destination for Indian students when it comes to higher education, more than 1 lakh 20 thousand of Indian students are there. “We renewed our MoU on higher education which will enhance the exchange in terms of higher education”, Modi added.

PM Modi said Canada is a energy super-power and it can fulfill India’s increasing energy demands. He said India and Canada have similar thoughts when it comes to the situation in North Korea & Maldives.

Trudeau address joint meet, says India is a natural partner and a trusted friend

While addressing the joint meet today, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said Canada and India not only rich a history but a set of values that encourage a natural friendship between our two countries. ‘As Canada looks to diversify its own economy and looks for new opportunities to do business beyond its boundaries, India is a natural partner and a trusted friend for commercial cooperation”, he added.

Both the leaders held extensive talks on key issues of counter-terrorism and extremism as well as ways to boost trade ties, after which the two sides inked six pacts, including on energy cooperation.

Earlier, PM Modi received Trudeau, along with his wife Sophie and children Xavier, Ella-Grace, and Hadrien at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Modi greeted his Canadian counterpart with his signature bear-hug and posed for photographs with his family. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday received Canadian premier Justin Trudeau, along with his wife Sophie and children Xavier, Ella-Grace, and Hadrien at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The Prime Minister greeted his Canadian counterpart Trudeau with his signature bear-hug and posed for photographs with his family. Later in the day, both the leaders will have a bilateral meeting on further strengthening India-Canada bilateral relations.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 23, 2018 03:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).