India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that it is "hard to put a limit" on India's relations with the United States and that "you ain't seen anything yet," in a blatant indication that New Delhi views the controversy with Ottawa and Washington over the killing of pro-Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada as an anomaly. Speaking about US-India partnership at a festive ‘Colors of India’ event in Washington DC, Jaishankar said, “I can promise you that this relationship, like the Chandrayaan, will go to the Moon, maybe even beyond.”
“(Earlier) we used to deal with each other...now we work with each other,” he added. At the occasion, where Indian-American elites in the US administration and public life also talked up the links, Jaishankar made no mention of the contentious Nijjar issue, highlighting the human resources heft the two sides have built up with immigration.
“In this changing world, I would say today that India and the US have moved to a position where we really see each other as very desirable, optimal and comfortable partners with whom it’s a natural instinct today to pick up the phone or if you meet someone and have a natural conversation,” Jaishankar said.
Can’t normalise what is going on in Canada
Taking aim at Canada, Jaishankar said it was important to denounce acts of violence, intimidation, and threats against Indian diplomats and missions, and he questioned if the world would have responded in the same way if it had happened to any other nation. “Let’s not normalise what is happening in Canada,” Jaishankar said during an interaction with Indian journalists.
“We have had an ongoing problem with Canada and the Canadian government for some years now. The ongoing problem really revolves around the permissiveness to terrorism, extremism and violence. This permissiveness is also reflected in the fact that some important extradition requests have not been responded to from their side,” he said.
Jaishankar said, “We have had smoke bombs thrown at the mission, we have had violence in front of consulates, there are posters put up. Do you consider this normal? If this had happened to any other country, how would they react? It is important to call out what is happening there.” When asked about Trudeau’s allegations, he said India has already pointed out to Canada that this is not the government of India’s policy. “But if they are prepared to share with us specifics and anything relevant, we are also open to looking at it. So in that sense, that’s where the matter stands,” Jaishankar said.
