Tempers Flare, Diplomats Fly as Trudeau Accuses Delhi of Murder on Canadian Soil; Modi Bats for Women’s Vote But ‘Historic Day’ Won’t Come Till 2029

Govt pursues Keynes’ ‘tax as confiscation’, Dulat fears season of terror, Aroon Purie’s alumni write back, India losing grip on Maldives, corporate capital investment slowing, revisiting Bhanwari Devi

A newsletter from The Wire | Founded by MK Venu, Seema Chishti, Siddharth Varadarajan, Sushant Singh, Sidharth Bhatia and Tanweer Alam | With inputs from Kalrav Joshi and Anirudh SK | Editor: Pratik Kanjilal

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Snapshot of the day

September 19, 2023

Pratik Kanjilal

Canada has expelled Pavan Kumar Rai, described by Canadian foreign minister Mélanie Joly as head of RAW in Canada, on the government’s conviction that Indian agents assassinated Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar as he drove out of a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia in mid-June. Rai was expelled because Canada has officially linked the slaying of the Canadian national to Indian agents. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took the House of Commons into confidence yesterday, and has briefed US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who both head nations with a big Indian diaspora. The White House is taking the matter seriously: “We are deeply concerned about the allegations referenced by Prime Minister Trudeau earlier today… It is critical that Canada’s investigation proceed and the perpetrators be brought to justice.” In June, Sikh protesters from Canada and other nations had gathered to pay their last respects to Nijjar. Sikhs in British Columbia now seek protection and the province’s Premier David Eby has asked the federal government to “share all information related to ongoing foreign interference”,  reports the Vancouver Sun.

Trudeau had brought up the matter in a frosty meeting with Indian PM Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in Delhi. Though Joly said it is a “grave violation” of Canadian sovereignty, severance of diplomatic relations with India has been ruled out. But on Saturday, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had confirmed that