Thursday 22 February 2018

From 'snub' to scandal: Canadian PM Trudeau's India visit in nutshell

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with Harsimrat Kaur Badal (left), minister of food processing, and CII President Shobana Kamineni at the Indo-Canada Business Session in New Delhi. (Photo: Dalip Kumar)

Canadian and Indian officials scrambled on Thursday to explain how a convicted Sikh extremist was invited to a New Delhi reception for Justin Trudeau, the latest misstep in the Canadian prime minister’s bumpy eight-day trip to India.

The tour has been overshadowed by suggestions of a lukewarm reception by the government and a series of photo ops featuring the Trudeau family in coordinated Indian attire that have raised eyebrows in both countries.

The latest flashpoint, a swiftly cancelled invitation by the Canadian delegation to Jaspal Atwal -- convicted in 1986 of the attempted murder of an Indian politician visiting Canada -- came just days after Trudeau had assured his hosts he would not support anyone trying to revive a separatist movement in India.

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