Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had arrived in India to attend the G20 Summit in Delhi, had to stay put in the country for two days due to a technical glitch in his airplane. Now reports have emerged that Trudeau was offered the services of Air India One to fly back home but the Canadian side declined the offer.
News agency ANI reported that Trudeau and his team, supposed to leave Delhi after the G20 summit on Sunday, were stranded here due to technical issues with their aircraft.
The team including the Prime Minister could only depart for Canada on Tuesday afternoon after the replacement airplane arrived in India.
Reports of Trudeau declining the Air India One services comes amid slight tension between India and Canada over the Khalistani issue. PM Modi and Trudeau held bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit where the former expressed concerns over rising anti-India and Khalistani environment in the Western country.
Modi also underlined the need for mutual trust and respect between the two countries for continued good ties, reports said. The group 'Sikhs for Justice' had recently arranged a Khalistan referendum at a gurdwara in British Columbia.
Trudeau had arrived in an Airbus A310 which developed a glitch on Sunday following which the Canadian PM could not fly out of India. With no other official engagement, Trudeau, who had arrived with his son Xavier, stayed at the Hotel Lalit till they flew out on Tuesday.
Xavier Trudeau had also accompanied his father on his visit to Jakarta where the Canadian PM attended the ASEAN-Canada summit.
Published 13 September 2023, 17:19 IST