Justin Trudeau has angrily denied claims he traveled to India on a plane ‘full of cocaine’ and did not leave his hotel room for two days.
The Canadian Prime Minister’s office has rejected comments made by former Indian diplomat Deepak Vohra about the allegations he made on Indian television on Monday.
Vohra, a former Indian ambassador to Sudan, told Zee News, “When Justin Trudeau came to India for the G20 this month, his plane was full of cocaine. He hasn’t left his room for two days.’
In a statement to the Toronto SunTrudeau’s office said: “This is absolutely false and a disturbing example of how misinformation can find its way into media reporting.”
It comes after Trudeau was forced to publicly apologize after Canada’s parliament recognized a man who fought alongside the Nazis in World War II.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologizes for the events surrounding the visit of Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy during a media meeting in Ottawa, Ontario, on Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Vohra, pictured here on the far right, commented on Zee News on Monday
According to the Toronto Sun, Vohra also said, “My wife saw him at the Delhi airport and said Trudeau looked depressed and stressed.
‘We don’t know the reason. I don’t know the reality, but social media and some “credible rumors” suggest his plane was full of cocaine.
‘He has become lonely. He is now trying to show that he is a Canadian Rambo and that nothing can go wrong in his presence. “India did the right thing by suspending visa services in Canada.”
The comments were made by the former diplomat after Trudeau alleged that Indian officials had a Sikh activist killed in British Columbia.
Trudeau’s allegations over the June 18 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh separatist, have led to a widening rift between Canada and India and a series of diplomatic expulsions.
The prime minister’s allegations about the Indian government’s involvement in the gun killing, made public for the first time on Monday, were based in part on intercepted communications between Indian officials and the country’s diplomats in Canada, an official told the Associated Press.
Some of the intelligence was provided by a member of the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance, which in addition to Canada includes the U.S., Britain, Australia and New Zealand, the person said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not say which ally provided intelligence and did not provide details on what was in the communications or how they were obtained.
Trudeau’s allegations over the June 18 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar (seen above), a 45-year-old Sikh separatist, have led to a widening rift between Canada and India
Mourners carry the casket of Sikh community leader and temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar during Antim Darshan, the first part of a day-long funeral service for him, in Surrey, B.C.
The revelation came as India stopped issuing visas to Canadian citizens and ordered Canada to reduce its diplomatic staff as the rift between the two countries widened.
Ties between the two countries fell to their lowest point in years after Trudeau told parliament on Monday that there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the killing on Canadian soil.
The bombshell claim sparked an international tit-for-tat, with each country expelling a diplomat. India called the allegations ‘absurd’.
Nijjar, an Indian-born plumber who became a Canadian citizen in 2007, had been wanted by India for years before he was gunned down in June outside the temple he led in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey.
At the time of his murder, Nijjar was organizing an unofficial Sikh diaspora referendum on Indian independence.
Trudeau had frosty encounters with Modi (right) at the G20 earlier this month, where he told the Indian leader directly about his suspicions of government involvement in the killing.
A banner depicting Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar is seen at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Temple, the site of his assassination in June 2023, in Surrey, British Columbia
New Delhi’s concerns about Sikh separatist groups in Canada have long strained the relationship.
In March, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government called on the Canadian High Commissioner in New Delhi, the country’s top diplomat, to complain about the Sikh independence protests in Canada.
Signs of a widening diplomatic rift emerged at the summit of the Group of 20 leading world economies earlier this month, hosted by India.
Trudeau had frosty meetings with Modi, and a few days later Canada canceled a trade mission to India planned for the fall. A trade deal between the two is now on hold.
On Wednesday, Trudeau was forced to apologize for the Canadian parliament’s recognition of a man who fought alongside the Nazis in World War II.
Yaroslav Hunka, 98, was invited to parliament and hailed as a Ukrainian and Canadian hero by Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Yaroslav Hunka awaits the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Friday. Right: Hunka in his SS unit during the war
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (pictured far right) apologized Wednesday for Parliament’s recognition of a man who fought alongside the Nazis in World War II
It later emerged that Hunka had been involved with the Nazi division during World War II, prompting Speaker Anthony Rota to resign and Trudeau to apologize.
In a televised address, the Prime Minister said: ‘This is a mistake that has deeply embarrassed Parliament and Canada.
“It was a terrible violation of the memory of the millions of people who died in the Holocaust and it was deeply, deeply painful for the Jewish people.”
Just after Zelenskyy delivered a speech in the House of Commons on Friday, Canadian MPs gave Hunka a standing ovation as Speaker Rota drew attention to him.
Rota introduced Hunka as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division.
Observers began reporting this weekend that the First Ukrainian Division was also known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a volunteer unit commanded by the Nazis.