Arindam Bagchi Archives - Lokmarg

India Hopes Canada Takes Action Against Extremist Elements: MEA

By LokMarg 21st December 2023

India’s position is consistent on the issue of Canada as it is hoping that Ottawa would take action on extremist elements that are misusing the freedom of speech and expression in their country, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday.

While addressing a weekly media briefing on Thursday, Bagchi said India has always highlighted that the core issue remains the space given to extremists, terrorists and anti-India elements in Canada.

Asked about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s remarks that he has seen a tonal shift in India’s relations with Canada after the US reported an alleged murder plot, Arindam Bagchi said, “I’m not exactly sure how to answer it. In the sense, this is a comment by the Prime Minister of Canada and I wouldn’t like to comment on that. But I think our position has been quite consistent and whenever this has been raised.”

Notably, the ties between India and Canada have been strained after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made allegations about India being involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has outrightly rejected the allegations terming them “absurd” and “politically motivated.”

“I think we have highlighted how we see the problem and frankly the core issue remains the space that is given to extremists and terrorists and anti-India elements in that country. I think you would heard also from External Affairs Minister recently as well as others about the developments of that case and the fact that if there’s something that we look into it but the core of it, the problem remains this. So I would like to say whether they have noted a shift or not. Certainly, our position has remained consistent and we would hope that they would take action on such extremist elements that are misusing the freedom of speech and expression in their country,” he added.

Trudeau has said he believes India’s relations with Canada might have undergone “a tonal shift” in the days since the unsealing of a US indictment alleging a conspiracy to murder India-designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil, Canada-based CBC News reported.

Trudeau made the remarks in an end-of-year interview with the CBC’s Rosemary Barton. He said the US indictment seems to have convinced the Indian government to adopt a more sober tone, as reported by CBC News.

“I think there is a beginning of an understanding that they can’t bluster their way through this and there is an openness to collaborating in a way that perhaps they were less open before,” he said.

Trudeau said, “We don’t want to be in a situation of having a fight with India right now over this.”

“We want to be working on that trade deal. We want to be advancing the Indo-Pacific strategy. But it is foundational for Canada to stand up for people’s rights, for people’s safety, and for the rule of law. And that’s what we’re going to do,” CBC News quoted Trudeau as saying.

Recently, the US Justice Department unsealed an indictment against an Indian national for his alleged involvement in a foiled plot to assassinate Pannun.

The Justice Department claimed that an Indian government employee (named CC-1), who was not identified in the indictment filed in a federal court in Manhattan, recruited an Indian national named Nikhil Gupta to hire a hitman to carry out the assassination, which was foiled by US authorities, according to prosecutors.

Gupta is currently in custody and has been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Czech authorities arrested and detained Gupta on June 30, pursuant to the bilateral extradition treaty between the United States and the Czech Republic.

Reacting to the Justice Department’s indictment, the Ministry of External Affairs said the case filed against an individual in a US court, allegedly linking him to an Indian official, was a “matter of concern” and is contrary to government policy.

“We cannot share any further information on such security matters. As regards the case against an individual that has been filed in a US court allegedly linking him to an Indian official, this is a matter of concern. We have said and let me reiterate that this is contrary to government policy” the MEA spokesperson said. (ANI)

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Want Normal Relations With Pakistan But: MEA

By LokMarg 3rd August 2023

Days after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif showed his willingness to talk to India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said that India wanted neighbourly ties with Pakistan but there should be an atmosphere free from terror and violence for such a relationship.

During a weekly briefing of MEA, Bagchi said, “We have seen reports regarding the comments by the Pakistan PM on this issue. India’s clear and consistent position is well known that we desire normal relations with all our neighbouring countries including Pakistan. For this environment free of terror and hostility is imperative.”

Earlier, on Tuesday, the Pakistan PM showed his willingness to talk with India and stressed that there is “nothing against anyone”.

While addressing the opening ceremony of the Mineral Summit in Islamabad, Shehbaz Sharif said that to use build the nation they are ready to talk with the neighbours.

Despite a history of strained ties between the two nations, since their independence in 1947, the Pakistan PM seeks to promote valuable engagement as the country is going through some economic issues.

“With our neighbours, we are prepared to talk to them, provided that the neighbour is serious to talk about serious matters on the table because war is no more an option. Pakistan is a nuclear power, not as an aggressor but for our defence purposes. We had three wars fought in the last 75 years. And what happened is it generates more poverty, unemployment and lack of resources to finance, education, health and well-being of the people,” PM Sharif said.

He stressed that this is not the way to adopt, but to fight through economic competition in the region.”Because if there is any nuclear flashpoint, who will live to tell what happened? So (war) is not an option,” PM Sharif said and added that he knows that both countries cannot become normal neighbours unless “abnormalities are removed” and unless the serious issues are understood and addressed through peaceful and meaningful discussions.

India and Pakistan’s relations were never normal since the formation of the latter country. India has repeatedly raised its concern over Pakistan’s support of cross-border terrorism and has asserted that terror and talks cannot go together.

Following the Indian government’s decision in August 2019 to abolish Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcate it into two Union territories [J&K and Ladakh], the Pakistan government, then led by Imran Khan, expelled India’s ambassador to Islamabad and halted bilateral trade. (ANI)

Invitations Sent To All Leaders For G20 Summit: MEA

By LokMarg 20th July 2023

India has sent out invitations to all G20 members, invitee countries and international organizations and is looking forward to welcoming their participation for the G20 Summit scheduled in the national capital this September.

Responding to a question on whether Russia has confirmed participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the G20 Summit, External Affairs Ministry official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said he cannot issue a response on any particular leader.
“At this point, all I can reiterate is what we have said earlier that invitation have gone out to all the G20 members as well as the invitee countries, the international organisations and all the invitee international organisations. This is a physical summit and we would hope that all the invitees are able to participate in person for the summit.

“There have been confirmations I understand but again I don’t have any specific response on any particular leader, yes or no, and I don’t think it would be fair to look at it that way. But, yes, we are looking forward to welcoming the leaders here for our G20 Leaders Summit, New Delhi leaders’ Summit in September,” he said.

Putin had skipped the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia in 2022 and sent his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in his place.

Earlier today, the office of South African President, Cyril Ramaphose had announced that Putin will not attend the BRICS nations summit. This will be the first summit hosted in person since the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent global restrictions. The Summit will be attended by the leaders of Brazil, India, China and South Africa.

Putin will instead deliver his speech at the summit via video conference, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agency TASS. Peskov also confirmed that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent Russia at the summit in-person.

Lavrov had this March participated in the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in Goa. India assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1.

The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10. The meeting will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.

A G20 Leaders’ declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the New Delhi Summit, stating Leaders’ commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings, according to the official G20 statement.

The Group of Twenty (G20) comprises 19 countries – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and the European Union. The invited countries are Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and UAE. (ANI)

US Report On Religious Freedom Based On Flawed Understanding: India

By LokMarg 17th May 2023

India rejected the US State Department report on international religious freedom and said it was based on “misinformation and flawed understanding.”

According to a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs, spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “We are aware of the release of the US State Department 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom. Regrettably, such reports continue to be based on misinformation and flawed understanding.”
He further stated that the report is motivated and biased commentary by some US officials which only serves to undermine further the credibility of these reports.

“We value our partnership with the US and will continue to have frank exchanges on issues of concern to us,” the spokesperson said.

This statement came in response to the US State Department 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom where it alleged high handedness against minorities especially Muslims by various state governments in India.

“There were numerous reports during the year of violence by law enforcement authorities against members of religious minorities in multiple states, including plainclothes police in Gujarat publicly flogging four Muslim men accused of injuring Hindu worshippers during a festival in October, and the Madhya Pradesh State government bulldozing Muslim-owned homes and shops following communal violence in Khargone in April,” US report read.

“In June, UN special rapporteurs on adequate housing, minority issues, and freedom of religion and belief wrote the government to express their “serious concerns” about the “punitive” demolitions in Khargone, which they stated were “ordered by local governments arbitrarily to punish Muslim minorities and low-income communities.” In October, a report drafted by a citizens committee stated there were “multiple instances of apparent police complicity” in violent actions against protestors, who were mostly Muslim, in the Delhi riots in 2020,” it added.

After the release of the report, State Secretary Antony Blinken said that in India, legal advocates and faith leaders from across the country’s diverse religious communities condemned a case of extreme hate speech against Muslims in the city of Haridwar, calling for the country to uphold its historical traditions of pluralism and tolerance.

Meanwhile, answering a media query over the International Religious Freedom Report on India, a senior US State Department official said that the official has been saddened to see New Delhi’s name and to see what is outlined in today’s report. (ANI)

Operation Kaveri: First Batch Of Stranded Indians Leave Sudan

By LokMarg 25th April 2023

Indians stranded in Sudan have departed from the conflict-torn country in the first phase of ‘Operation Kaveri’, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday.

The third Saryu-class patrol vessel of the Indian Navy, INS Sumedha with 278 people onboard departed from Port Sudan for Jeddah.
Taking to Twitter, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Arindam Bagchi wrote, “First batch of stranded Indians leave Sudan under #OperationKaveri. INS Sumedha with 278 people onboard departs Port Sudan for Jeddah.”

As the fighting between the Sudanese Army and paramilitary groups intensified in the capital Khartoum, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed on Monday that its ‘Operation Kaveri’ to evacuate its citizens from battle-torn Sudan is underway and about 500 Indians had reached Port Sudan.

India has launched “Operation Kaveri” to bring back stranded Indians from the war-torn Sudan.

Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said, “Operation Kaveri gets underway to bring back our citizens stranded in Sudan. About 500 Indians have reached Port Sudan. More on their way. Our ships and aircraft are set to bring them back home. Committed to assisting all our brethren in Sudan.”

Previously, France Embassy in India informed that their country has evacuated some Indians along with citizens of 27 other countries as part of its evacuation mission from violence-hit Sudan.

Earlier, on Saturday, Saudi Arabia said it has evacuated 66 citizens of “brotherly and friendly” foreign countries that included a few Indian nationals from the conflict-hit nation.

The evacuation came days after Jaishankar spoke to his Saudi Arabia counterpart. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation in Sudan.

“In the implementation of the directives of the Kingdom’s Leadership, we are pleased to announce the safe arrival of the evacuated citizens of the Kingdom from Sudan and several nationals of brotherly & friendly countries, including diplomats & international officials,” Saudi Arabia Foreign Ministry statement said.

Sudan is facing violence due to fighting between the army and the paramilitary forces. There are reports of violence even amid a 72-hour ceasefire.

Earlier, Jaishankar had on April 20 met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York and discussed the developments in Sudan.

“We had a very good meeting. Most of our meeting was on the Sudan situation. We also discussed the G20, and Ukraine conflict, but essentially it was about Sudan,” Jaishankar told ANI.

Jaishankar said that the Indian government is in continuous touch with its citizens stuck in Sudan.

Fighting has been raging between forces loyal to Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The conflict began since a coup in 2021 between Sudan’s military leader and his deputy on the ruling council erupted derailing a plan for a transition to a civilian democracy after the fall of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019. (ANI)

All SCO Countries Including Pakistan Are Expected To Attend Events: MEA

By LokMarg 2nd February 2023

As India currently holds the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) presidency, it expects all member countries including Pakistan to attend the events under its SCO chairmanship, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday.

“We hold the current presidency of SCO. As customary, we extend invites to all SCO countries including Pakistan. We expect them all to attend the events,” Bagchi said in response to a question on India’s SCO invite to Pakistan.
India has formally sent invitations to all members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) including Pakistan and China for the upcoming foreign ministers’ meeting which will be held in Goa from May 4-5.

“I think Pakistani officials might have attended such events. I don’t know who all have confirmed. We’ll let you know closer to the date,” Bagchi added while speaking during the MEA weekly media briefing.

The invitation has been extended to SCO members including the new Foreign Minister of China Qin Gang and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto.

India took over the chairmanship of the nine-member mega grouping in September of last year and will be holding key ministerial meetings and the summit this year.

“So far there is no confirmation from the Pakistani side whether Foreign Minister Bilawal will attend the meeting or not,” sources said.

Relations between the two countries have been precarious for many years with regard to issues of cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, even as Islamabad has been seeking the restoration of Article 370 for the former Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir for any talks.

The External Affairs Ministry spokesperson in response to a question on Qatari Naval Officers said he doesn’t have any update this week.

On being questioned if any foreign government had approached India regarding the status of Adani, Bagchi said that he isn’t aware of any such outreach.

Bachi said that India during its G20 presidency will showcase various elements including the country’s tech and economic success. (ANI)