Critics latch onto perceived India snub

OTTAWA — A clash of political ideals may be behind a perceived snub of Justin Trudeau that was making international headlines as the prime minister passed the midpoint of his weeklong trip to India, one expert familiar with the region said Wednesday.

Those headlines were also writing the script for the Conservative Opposition at home, who pounced on the visit as just another expensive Trudeau family vacation. Media outlets including CNN and al Jazeera seized on the comments of Indian officials who accused the Trudeau government of backing Sikh separatists known as the Khalistani movement.

“Over the years, the Canadian political establishment ... has been mollycoddling Khalistani elements,” former Indian envoy to Canada Vishnu Prakash told Indian news site The Print on Monday. “Under the Trudeau government, this has increased.”

They also took notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s failure to formally greet Trudeau or even acknowledge his presence in the country as the visit began.

When Modi visited Canada in April 2015 he was greeted by then-prime minister Stephen Harper, with a 21-gun salute and full military honours. Modi has likely avoided greeting the Liberal prime minister with open arms because the two men don’t remotely share the same world view, said Ferry de Kerckhove, a University of Ottawa professor who was once Canadian high commissioner to Pakistan. In fact, he said, Modi has a “much greater common soul” with U.S. President Donald Trump than with Trudeau.

The Trudeau family’s everchanging attire during their multiple stops in front of some of India’s iconic cultural landmarks was also the target of criticism. Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre and others wondered aloud how much Canadian taxpayers are paying for the many costume changes.

Trudeau is expected to meet Modi on Friday in Delhi.