Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his delegation were forced to stay in India for another day after his official aircraft developed a technical snag, according to a statement from Canada PM’s office. The technical snag, officials said, could not be fixed overnight forcing the Canadian prime minister and his delegation extends their New Delhi stay.
According to reports, the delegation was informed about the technical snag in the aircraft upon their departure for the airport. “These issues are not fixable overnight, our delegation will be staying in India until alternative arrangements are made,” it added.
The aircraft carrying Canadian PM has been identified as an Airbus and reportedly said to have faced similar issues in the past as well. The aircraft is operated by Canadian Air Force.
Trudeau had arrived in India on Friday to attend the New Delhi G20 Summit, which was held between September 9 and 10. After attending the G20 India Summit, Trudeau was scheduled to return home on Sunday.
Interestingly, the extended stay has come at a time when Trudeau was severally criticized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of Khalistani extremists.
During a brief discussion with Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, PM Modi asked his Canadian counterpart to act against extremist elements in Canada that are “promoting secessionism and inciting violence against Indian diplomats, damaging diplomatic premises and threatening the Indian community and their places of worship.”
“The nexus of such forces with organised crime, drug syndicates and human trafficking should be a concern for Canada as well. It is essential for the two countries to cooperate in dealing with such threats,” the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Responding to the Prime Minister, Trudeau said that while Canada will defend “freedom of expression”, it won’t allow violence and hatred. He further said that “actions of few” don’t represent the entire community or Canada.