Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's security team sent Indian intelligence agencies into a tizzy after they refused to accommodate Trudeau in the presidential suite that was specially arranged by Indian security teams during the G20 summit in New Delhi, and instead opted for staying in a normal room.
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's security team sent Indian intelligence agencies into a tizzy after they refused to accommodate Trudeau in the presidential suite that was specially arranged by Indian security teams during the G20 summit in New Delhi, and instead opted for staying in a normal room.
As per norms laid down for the heads of different countries who landed in Delhi for the G20 summit, world leaders were to be accommodated in specific hotel rooms with stringent security measures in place. For Canadian PM Trudeau, a heavily secured room at the Lalit in Central Delhi, with bulletproof glass which could stop sniper bullets, was prepared. However, his security team opted for staying in normal rooms, which caused last-minute tensions within the Indian security teams, Times of India reported.
While multiple rounds of negotiations were involved between the two sides, Indian security teams had to back down and allow Trudeau to stay in a normal room as his team refused to budge. The Canadian team also offered to pay for both the rooms, the Presidential suite and the normal room where they stayed in eventually, according to media reports.
More drama unfolded after the G20 summit. Although Trudeau was scheduled to leave Delhi on September 10 at the end of the G20 Summit, he was stranded in India for two days due to a technical issue with his aircraft. It has since then been revealed that the Centre had offered the services of Air India One for the Canadian PM's return but the Canadian government declined the offer and responded to the Indian government after around six hours, expressing their preference to wait for their own plane.
These reports surface at a time when diplomatic tensions between Canada and India reached a new high with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claiming a possible link between the Indian government and the assasination of a Khalistani terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.