India Does India Have The Power To Retaliate Against Canada?

[Vikram singh]

NEW DELHI: With public outrage rising over the denial of visas to several serving and retired officials of Indian security agencies, India Thursday warned Canada that it will retaliate if Ottawa does not take corrective action within "a few days".The visa row erupted less than a month before a visit to Canada by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh."We have written to the external affairs ministry about it. If the Canadians don't respond, we will retaliate," Home Secretary G.K. Pillai told IANS.Asked if Canadians would be denied visas to India as a retaliatory measure, Pillai said: "Let's see. It all depends on how they respond."Pillai said India will wait for a few days before deciding the course of action. "We will wait to hear from them. Let's give them a few days' time," said Pillai.He, however, refused to spell out possible retaliatory steps or corrective action India may take against Canada over what is widely seen here as the denial of visas on extraneous grounds.Pillai added that the external affairs ministry had summoned the Canadian high commissioner last week and sought an explanation.One way to retaliate would be to deny visas to Canadian officials who go to Afghanistan via India, said highly-placed sources.The home ministry wants the Canadian high commission to apologise, take back the comments and take action against the officers responsible for rejecting visas, the sources said.Even as India awaits a concrete Canadian course correction measure, chief opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reflected public anger and asked Canada to apologise for its "unacceptable" remarks about some serving and retired Indian security forces personnel whom it denied visas. The party also demanded "firmer and speedier steps" from the Indian government in the matter."We certainly demand an apology from the Canadian authorities. Such remarks are completely unacceptable to us," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman told IANS.The ruling Congress expressed surprise. "The government should take up the matter seriously with the Canadian authorities. The security agencies are performing a national duty," Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said.The disclosure about cases of denial of visas to some former officials of the army, Intelligence Bureau (IB) and an officer of Punjab Police could cast a shadow over Manmohan Singh's trip to Canada next month for the G20 summit.Manmohan Singh is likely to take the issue with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper during his bilateral talks, official sources said. Such unseemly controversy could also affect the new upswing in bilateral ties as India and Canada are expected to seal a civil nuclear pact and begin negotiations on a free trade area agreement.Lt. Gen. (retd) A.S. Bahia, a decorated Indian Army officer who is now a member of the Armed Forces Tribunal in Chandigarh, was denied visa in May on grounds that he had served in a "sensitive location" of Jammu and Kashmir.In yet another case, two brigadiers were denied visas in 2008 and another in 2009.S.S. Sidhu, a retired IB officer, was denied visa on March 26, with the Canadian high commission contending that he belonged to the "inadmissible" category of persons.In the rejection letter, the Canadian high commission said Sidhu could not be given visa as he had served in an organisation like IB and, therefore, he could "engage in an act of espionage or subversion" or "violence that would or might endanger the lives or safety of persons in Canada".Sidhu, who said he wanted to go to Canada just to see the new house of his daughter, has termed the rejection as a "disgusting reply from a friendly country like Canada and an insult to India".Sidhu was to visit Canada ahead of the trip of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next month for the G-20 summit.However, in Sidhu's case, the Canadian high commission relented after the home ministry wrote a letter to the external affairs ministry protesting the move, sources said.Last week, the Canadian high commission here refused a visa to Fateh Singh Pandher, a retired BSF constable, on grounds that he was associated with a "notoriously violent force".



Canada visa snubs: India to retaliate

 

[Vikram singh]

what happen when USA did't give visa to Chief Minister of Gujarat? Modi has killed or should i say Massacred thousand of Muslims in Gujarat.just like 1984 sikhs were hacked to death by Gandhi Terrorist

 

[Archived_Member16]

source:
http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/canada-deeply-regrets-visa-row-india

Canada 'deeply regrets' visa row with India


IANS

Friday, 28 May 2010


TORONTO: Canada has said it "deeply regrets" the aspersions cast on the Indian security establishment following the refusal of visa to several Indians by its mission in New Delhi.

"The government of Canada deeply regrets the recent incident in which letters drafted by public service officials during routine visa refusals to Indian nationals cast false aspersions on the legitimacy of work carried out by Indian defence and security institutions," Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said late Thursday.

Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's planned trip to Canada, Kenney tried to soothe ruffled feathers by saying that it had "the highest regard for India, its government institutions and processes".

"Canada has the highest regard for India, its government institutions and processes. Our friendship as democratic nations who operate under the rule of law grows ever stronger and we share a common bond of ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity.

"At a time when global security continues to be a cause for concern, Canada values the increasing ties and cooperation with India in the fields of defence, security and counter-terrorism.

"Each year, Canada welcomes about 131,000 Indian residents on both a temporary and permanent basis, including many individuals from the various Indian security forces," Kenney said.

Indo-Canadian relations hit a storm following revelations that the Canadian mission in New Delhi had in recent years denied visas to an unspecified number of serving and retired Indians because of their association with the armed forces and spy agencies.

The refusal sparked public outrage in India, with some demanding a public apology from Canada. The row erupted less than a month before Manmohan Singh goes to Canada to attend the G20 summit.

A retired BSF officer, Fateh Singh Pandher, who was the first to expose the scandal, was told that he belonged to a "notoriously violent" force. Since then, several retired and even serving members of India's defence forces and intelligence agencies have said they were denied visas.

Even an Intelligence Bureau officer set to travel with Manmohan Singh was given the same treatment before New Delhi protested and Canada climbed down.



Kenney said the language of the letters issued along with visa refusal or the "inaccurate impression" they gave "in no way reflects the policy or position of the government of Canada.

"While admissibility to Canada is determined by a number of criteria, candidate assessments should in no way question Indian institutions which operate under the rule of law and within a democratic framework".

He added that "decisions on visa applications are made on a case-by-case basis by non-partisan public servants following an independent process based on Canada's immigration law as it currently stands".

"However, this unfortunate incident has demonstrated that the deliberately broad legislation may create instances when the net is cast too widely by officials, creating irritants with our trusted and valued international allies. For this reason the admissibility policy within the legislation is under active review at this time."

 

[spnadmin]

There is more to this story that we have not learned yet. The past 3 months of public conversations between India and Canada right now amounts to 3 chapters in a book. None of these chapters are connected by a logical story line. Something beneath the surface related to Canadian foreign policy and immigration policy may be important to understanding. The media may not know, or may know and is not saying. But what is it?

 

[kds1980]

what happen when USA did't give visa to Chief Minister of Gujarat? Modi has killed or should i say Massacred thousand of Muslims in Gujarat.just like 1984 sikhs were hacked to death by Gandhi Terrorist

Then why USA gave visa to KamalNath ?

And we should also not forget That same USA welcomed Rajiv with open arms in 1985

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1079/is_v85/ai_3875071/

By not giving Visa to modi USA was only doing lip service to muslims

 

[spnadmin]

Then why USA gave visa to KamalNath ?

And we should also not forget That same USA welcomed Rajiv with open arms in 1985

Visit of Indian Prime Minister Gandhi - Rajiv Gandhi - transcript | US Department of State Bulletin | Find Articles at BNET

By not giving Visa to modi USA was only doing lip service to muslims

I can answer that. The academic and 'intellectual" establishment in the US, including universities, think tanks and policy bodies, are still in love with the legacy of Gandhi and Nehru. Personally I could never fathom its depths nor get to the bottom of it. But if given the chance to pick the "terrorist in disguise" from a line-up of India politicians neither Modi nor Kamal Nath would be selected. Educated people are not immune from naive thought. Given the chance to consider the opposing viewpoints, I suspect they would be completely baffled. I would also gamble they are burning the mid-night oil reading old newspaper articles, interviewing contemporary witnesses, reading the work of Meboob, trying to figure out "all this opposition" to Nath. This must come as a brand new concept to them.

 

[kds1980]

I can answer that. The academic and 'intellectual" establishment in the US, including universities, think tanks and policy bodies, are still in love with the legacy of Gandhi and Nehru. Personally I could never fathom its depths nor get to the bottom of it. But if given the chance to pick the "terrorist in disguise" from a line-up of India politicians neither Modi nor Kamal Nath would be selected. Educated people are not immune from naive thought. Given the chance to consider the opposing viewpoints, I suspect they would be completely baffled.

I think it has lot to do with different religions of victims.Sikhs are neither a large votebank in USA neither they have many countries like muslims so by denying visa to modi USA wants to show muslim country that USA is not anti muslim and do care about muslims.On the other hand USA is not going to gain anything by denying Visa to rajiv in 1985 or kamalnath

 

[spnadmin]

Back to Canada and India. The image that keeps coming to mind is of two lovers who are learning to dance the tango. And they are not making much progress. They are not just falling over each other. He is slamming her on the chairs and tables, she is twisting his arms in strange positions, and they are both going home at night looking for the tube of super-strength Red Dragon Chinese liniment - good for serious kung fu injuries, but it works for injuries sustained during dance marathons too.

 

[spnadmin]

I think it has lot to do with different religions of victims.Sikhs are neither a large votebank in USA neither they have many countries like muslims so by denying visa to modi USA wants to show muslim country that USA is not anti muslim and do care about muslims.On the other hand USA is not going to gain anything by denying Visa to rajiv in 1985 or kamalnath

Kanwardeep Singh ji,

Your comments have more than a nugget of practical logic. You are also giving policy makers in the US too much credit. They are truly as naive as I have described them. I have been watching and reading since I was 14 years old. That is almost 50 years of fact-finding. LOL