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Filled me with pride: Hardeep Puri reacts on India’s response to Canada

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri praised the MEA for its "exemplary" responses to Canada for allowing anti-India elements and extremists to threaten Indian diplomats and community leaders.

Sentinel Digital Desk

New Delhi: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday heaped praise on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for giving "exemplary" responses to Canada for consciously providing space to anti-India elements, violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in the country.

As Hindu temples in Canada continue to be constantly vandalised by Khalistani goons and Hindu-Canadians besides Indian diplomats also being repeatedly targeted, the MEA had on Monday issued a strongly-worded statement, detailing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's continued hostility towards India which it said has long been in evidence.

After underlining that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau government's actions endangered the safety of Indian diplomats, the MEA had announced its decision to withdraw India's High Commissioner in Canada and other "targetted diplomats and officials".

"I have also witnessed threats, physical threats, to people who represent India. I have been at the receiving end of some of those threats. I think it is incomprehensible that in the name of freedom of expression, you allow the photograph, whether on social media, of a head of mission with different people firing bullets at it. Our responses on all these things have been exemplary. I think they will realise when we start calibrating our response. I read the statement by MEA and it filled me with pride. They have called spade a spade. I have seen my colleagues in different places being attacked in Gurdwaras, etc. It is unbelievable to see what is going on and then we speak about the rule of law," said Puri while speaking at the launch of the book 'Inside the Terrifying World of Jaish-e-Mohammed' written by Abhinav Pandya.

With the book examining the origins, ideology, organisational structure, financing, strategies and radicalisation methods of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and its chief Masood Azhar, Puri, a seasoned diplomat before he ventured into politics, also spoke in detail about terrorism and major terror entities. (IANS)

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