Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, 51, chose to stay in his room in the Capital’s Lalit Hotel after his Airbus plane developed a snag. What made the situation worse was that New Delhi has not been entirely warm towards Trudeau with a tersely worded statement describing India’s “strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada” being issued on Sunday. A little after that, secessionist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) on Sunday hastily arranged the Khalistan referendum at a gurdwara in Canada’s British Columbia, a move that did not go unnoticed in Indian government circles.

The ministry of external affairs confirmed that they had received no request for any other official engagements and the office of the minister of state who was assigned to receive Trudeau, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, also confirmed that his duty was simply to receive the Canadian Prime Minister at the airport on his arrival. There was also no indication of any engagements at the local high commission either.

“The Canadian Armed Forces continue their best efforts to get the Canadian delegation home,’’ said Mohammed Hussain, press secretary at the Prime Minister’s office, in reply to HT’s queries. “Their latest update shows an earliest possible departure of Tuesday late afternoon. The situation remains fluid.’’