India called the Canadian ambassador today and revealed that comments made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on protests by farmers in Delhi were interfering in its domestic affairs and would seriously harm bilateral relations.
Earlier, Trudeau expressed concern over the country's farmers, mostly from the Sikh-dominated Punjab state, camping on the outskirts of Delhi in demonstrations against farm reform.
Accordingly, India’s foreign ministry said that comments on issues related to Indian farmers were an unacceptable intervention in their internal affairs.
Meanwhile, relations between the two countries have been plagued by crisis, especially in recent years, with concerns in India involving some Sikh leaders in Canada having ties to separatist groups hostile to India.
This is because Canada is home to an influential Sikh community and Indian leaders state that there are some groups there who argue that an independent Sikh country known as Khalistan, was excluded from India.
According to India's foreign ministry, the comments made by Trudeau and other leaders have given a boost to radical groups and they have risked the country's diplomatic staff based in Canada.
However, the Canadian embassy remained silent and did not comment.
In addition, the Indian government has held talks with farmers to end the crisis and reassure them that farm reform is in their long-term interests.
