Justin Trudeau and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrive for a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Feb. 23, 2018.

OTTAWA – Justin Trudeau’s longtime adviser Gerald Butts accused India’s government of trying to “screw” the Liberals to help his Canadian Conservative rivals during the prime minister’s controversy-ridden trip to India.

Trudeau’s visit to India in early 2018 was widely panned because of his dressing in traditional garb; the invitation of a convicted attempted murderer to high-level receptions and the lack of official duties among other issues.

“‘We walked into a buzzsaw — (Narendra) Modi and his government were out to screw us and were throwing tacks under our tires to help Canadian conservatives, who did a good job of embarrassing us,’” Butts is quoted as saying in a new book by National Post political columnist, John Ivison, Trudeau: The Education of a Prime Minister, scheduled to be released.

Butts was principal secretary to Trudeau at the time although he resigned his position earlier this year in the wake of the SNC-Lavalin controversy. However, he has returned to the fold and will work on the Liberals’ re-election campaign.

The book sheds light on how senior Liberals viewed and framed the prime minister’s trip. At least as far as polling was concerned, the eight-day journey seemed to mark the end of a Liberal honeymoon period with the Canadian public.