Anadolu staff
12 October 2023•Update: 12 October 2023
NEW DELHI
Canadian Senate Speaker Raymonde Gagne stayed away from the G-20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) hosted by India that began Thursday amid an India-Canada diplomatic row.
We invite all members for G-20 events, in this case P-20. Participation is their decision and subject to a number of factors and I think you should ask them (Canada),” said Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in response to a question by a reporter.
“I’ll have to check whether anybody is actually attending from Canada because I think the parliament speaker could not attend.”
The Press Trust of India news agency said Gagne confirmed her presence earlier at the P-20 meeting.
Tensions between the two countries have been rising since the death of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead June 18 in front of a Sikh temple in Canada’s westernmost province of British Columbia.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau later said there were "credible allegations" that the Indian government was behind the shooting.
India, which angrily dismissed the allegation as "absurd," also stopped issuing visas to Canadians due to "security threats."
Trudeau, however, said he was not looking to provoke India and urged officials in New Delhi to cooperate with an investigation into the killing.
Nijjar was a vocal supporter of independence for a Khalistani state in the Punjab region. The Indian government has repeatedly insisted that Nijjar was a terrorist -- a label his supporters deny -- and at a recent G-20 summit in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chided Trudeau for allowing Sikh separatist protests in Canada.
The Khalistan movement for an independent Sikh state in India peaked in the 1980s. It was put down by force and most of its leaders are said to be in Canada, Australia, and the UK.
An Indian government statement Thursday said parliamentarians from G20 countries and guest countries came together in New Delhi “to deliberate on the lifestyles which need to be adopted for the future of the planet.”
Modi will inaugurate the 9th G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit on Friday in New Delhi, according to a statement.
It said the summit is being hosted by parliament under the broader framework of India’s G20 Presidency.
The presidency expires in November.
