External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, while addressing the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, also said that respect for territorial integrity and interference in internal affairs cannot be exercised selectively. He said that gone are the days when some nations set the agenda and expected others to accept their views. The Foreign Minister said, ‘We should not allow injustice like vaccine discrimination to happen again. Climate action also cannot continue while shirking historical responsibilities. Market power should not be used to take food and energy out of the hands of the needy and into the hands of the wealthy.
Attack on Canada!
The minister said, ‘Nor should we let political convenience dictate the response to terrorism, extremism and violence…’ His comments are believed to be regarding Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had recently alleged ‘possible’ involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in his country. India had termed his statement as ‘nonsense’ and ‘politically motivated’. India termed Trudeau’s allegation as ‘politically’ motivated and said it contains a great deal of ‘bias’.
Both countries expelled diplomats
The Prime Minister of Canada had given such a statement after returning from the G-20 summit in India. Hardeep Singh Nijjar was declared a wanted terrorist by India. On June 18, Nijjar was murdered outside a gurudwara in Vancouver. After Trudeau’s statement, Canada expelled a senior Indian diplomat. In response to this, India also expelled a Canadian diplomat.
(With agency input.)