Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Wednesday briefed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs on the ongoing India-Canada diplomatic row, New Delhi’s position on the conflict in West Asia and Europe and other critical foreign policy issues.
A meeting of the committee, which is headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, was held at Parliament House Annexe.
Today’s meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs was held days after an Indian consular camp at the Hindu Sabha Temple in Canada’s Brampton witnessed a “violent disruption” on Sunday in Brampton, near Toronto. The incident sparked widespread criticism in and outside Canada.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday condemned the “deliberate attack” on the Hindu temple in Canada and said that “cowardly attempts to intimidate” Indian diplomats were appalling and New Delhi expects Canadian authorities to ensure justice and uphold rule of law.
The Foreign Secretary on Wednesday briefed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs on the issues concerning India’s ties with Canada as also bilateral relations with China, sources said.
Meanwhile, as the Republican nominee Donald Trump is set to become the next President of the United States, Chairman of Parliament Standing Committee on External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor has emphasised on Trump’s ‘friendly relation’ with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress MP mentioned that the President-designate’s ‘tough’ stand on China might be “not bad” for India.
“He has been very friendly with Mr. Modi and the government of India. He’s been tough on China, which, of course, given our own troubles with China, is not bad for us. So I think these are the kinds of things we can expect on the basis of his existing track record,” Tharoor said.