Canada’s move to designate the Indian high commissioner to Canada and other diplomats as “persons of interest” in connection with an investigation into the murder of pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was vehemently rejected by the external affairs ministry, which called the Trudeau regime’s action “preposterous.”
India referred to the action taken by the Trudeau administration as a “deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains.” “The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centred on vote bank politics,” the MEA said in a statement acknowledging the correspondence received from Canada.
Our response to diplomatic communication from Canada:https://t.co/TepgpVVPxp
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 14, 2024
The government also took a strong stance against the Canadian prime minister, claiming that Canada had not provided India with any evidence related to the investigation into Nijjar’s murder, even after numerous requests. “Despite several requests from our side, the Canadian government has not shared any evidence with the Government of India since Prime Minister Trudeau made specific claims in September 2023. This most recent action comes after exchanges where claims without supporting evidence were made once more.
The ministry claimed that Trudeau’s animosity towards India is well known and referred to Canada’s efforts as a “deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains.” India accused Trudeau of visiting the country in 2018 “to curry favour with a vote bank.”
“The Trudeau Government has deliberately given space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten, and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada,” the MEA alleged, accusing the government of being lenient towards pro-Khalistan and anti-India voices. They and Indian politicians have been threatened with death as a result. Freedom of speech has been used as justification for all of these actions.
MEA said Canada turned down several extradition requests from India and Canada fast-tracked citizenship for individuals who illegally entered that country. Backing Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma, MEA said he is India’s senior most serving diplomat and aspersions cast on him by Canada are “ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt”. “India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian Government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats,” it added.
Last year, following a rift in India-Canada relations over the Nijjar killing, Canada had to withdraw over 40 diplomats from India after the Centre removed immunity for them. India too withdrew diplomats from Canada.
