New Delhi:Canadian Senate Speaker Raymonde Gagne on Thursday said he will skip the G20 Parliamentary Speakers Summit (P20) to be hosted by New Delhi on Friday though Ottawa earlier confirmed that it would attend the Summit. This comes amid the ongoing diplomatic spat between the two nations after Canadian PM Trudeau alleged that the Indian government agents linked to the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June. India dismissed the allegation as “absurd”. Najjar designated a terrorist by India, was gunned down by unidentified men in the parking lot of a Gurdwara in Surrey town.
Last week, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla during a press briefing told reporters that Canada has confirmed its participation in the P20 Summit to be held from October 12-14. Gagné was appointed to the Senate by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2016. Meanwhile, reports suggest that External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar held a secret meeting with Canadian FM Melanie Joly in Washington days ago amid the diplomatic stand-off between the two nations.
When asked about the development, the Ministry of External Affairs refused to comment. Given the ongoing diplomatic tussle, India has earlier asked 41 Canadian diplomats to leave the country by October 10. The relations between India and Canada are already not great over the activities carried out by the Khalistani extremists based on Canadian soil and the allegations by the Canadian PM have pushed the ties to a new low.
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