Twist In Justin Trudeau Flight Saga: GroundedPlane Fixed As Backup On Way

New Delhi:

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the delegation that attended the weekend’s G20 Summit in Delhi will depart India later this afternoon, his office said Tuesday afternoon, 48 hours after he was scheduled to leave.

Mr Trudeau’s plane had been grounded with technical issues Sunday evening, requiring him to return to his hotel in central Delhi and await a replacement. The second plane – routed via Italy – was to land at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi airport later today but that was diverted to the United Kingdom.

No reason was given for the unscheduled diversion, United States broadcaster CBS News said. Fortunately for Mr Trudeau, his first plane has now been fixed and he is to return home shortly. It is still not clear what happened to the Canadian PM’s plane; on Monday his office would only say the “issues are not fixable overnight” and that “the situation remains fluid”.

“The Canadian Armed Forces continue their best efforts to get the Canadian delegation home. Their latest update shows an earliest possible departure of Tuesday late afternoon,” his office had said.

READ |Justin Trudeau To Stay Another Night In India After Plane Develops Snag

Mr Trudeau’s delayed departure has been seen as awkward given criticism of his government over its handing of Khalistan terrorists and sympathisers in his country. On Sunday, India expressed “strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada”.

“The nexus of such forces with organised crime, drug syndicates and human trafficking should be a concern for Canada as well,” the ministry said. “It is essential for the two countries to cooperate in dealing with such threats.”

Relations between the nations have been tense; in fact, the leaders did not hold a formal bilateral at the summit. They did, however, have a brief conversation – one in which they discussed foreign interference and “respect for the rule of law”, Mr Trudeau said.

India has characterised a June protest outside its High Commission in Ottawa as an “attack” and its anti-terror agency is investigating the incident.

“Actions Of A Few…”: Justin Trudeau

Mr Trudeau said his country “will always defend freedom of expression… of conscience… of peaceful protest and it is extremely important to us. At the same time, we are always there to prevent violence and push back against hatred.”

“On the issue of the community, it is important to remember the actions of the few do not represent Canada. The flip side of it, we also highlighted the importance of respecting the rule of law and we did talk about foreign interference,” he added.