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The allegations serve the anti-India separatist agenda that the Trudeau government has constantly pandered to for narrow political gains, says MEA
Strongly rejecting Canada’s latest allegations about the involvement of top diplomats in the Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder case, India on Monday (October 14, 2024) described them as “preposterous imputations” that are part of the “political agenda” of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau centred around “vote-bank politics”. In a strongly-worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) highlighted Prime Minister Trudeau’s “hostility to India” and his “naked interference in India’s internal politics”.
The MEA pointed out that the Indian government had already taken cognisance of the activities of the Canadian High Commission in India “that serve the political agenda of the current regime” by implementing a principle of reciprocity in diplomatic representations and stated that India now reserves the right “to take further steps” in response to these latest allegations.
“We have received a diplomatic communication from Canada yesterday suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are ‘persons of interest’ in a matter related to an investigation in that country. The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centred around vote bank politics,” the MEA said in its statement.
The MEA called out the Canadian government for a “deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains,” asserting that it had not shared a shred of evidence with the Indian government despite several requests.
“Since Prime Minister Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023, the Canadian Government has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests from the Indian side. “This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains,” the MEA stated.
The MEA went on to say: “Prime Minister Trudeau’s hostility to India has long been in evidence. In 2018, his visit to India, which was aimed at currying favour with a vote bank, rebounded to his discomfort. His Cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India. His naked interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020 showed how far he was willing to go in this regard”.
‘Allegations Serve Anti-India Separatist Agenda that Trudeau Government Panders To’
The MEA statement maintained that Prime Minister Trudeau’s government had deliberately brought in India to mitigate the damage after criticism for turning a blind eye to foreign interference in Canadian politics, adding that the latest allegations also serve the anti-India separatist agenda that his government has constantly pandered to for narrow political gains.
“That his Government was dependent on a political party, whose leader openly espouses a separatist ideology vis-à-vis India, only aggravated matters. Under criticism for turning a blind eye to foreign interference in Canadian politics, his Government has deliberately brought in India in an attempt to mitigate the damage. This latest development targeting Indian diplomats is now the next step in that direction. It is no coincidence that it takes place as Prime Minister Trudeau is to depose before a Commission on foreign interference. It also serves the anti-India separatist agenda that the Trudeau Government has constantly pandered to for narrow political gains,” the MEA noted.
To that end, the MEA pointed out, the Trudeau Government had “consciously” provided space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada.
“This has included death threats to them and to Indian leaders. All these activities have been justified in the name of freedom of speech. Some individuals who have entered Canada illegally have been fast-tracked for citizenship. Multiple extradition requests from the Government of India in respect of terrorists and organised crime leaders living in Canada have been disregarded,” the MEA said.
In its statement, the MEA came up with a strong defence of Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma, describing him as India’s senior most serving diplomat with a distinguished career spanning 36 years. He has been Ambassador in Japan and Sudan, while also serving in Italy, Turkiye, Vietnam and China. “The aspersions cast on him by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt’” the MEA stated.
At the same time, the MEA said the Government of India has taken cognizance of the activities of the Canadian High Commission in India that serve the political agenda of the current regime. This led to the implementation of the principle of reciprocity in regard to diplomatic representation. 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.
“The Government of India has taken cognizance of the activities of the Canadian High Commission in India that serve the political agenda of the current regime. This led to the implementation of the principle of reciprocity in regard to diplomatic representation. 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,” the MEA statement said.
A diplomatic row was triggered between India and Canada after Prime Minister Trudeau made allegations in September 2023 about India’s potential involvement in the death of Nijjar, who had been designated a terrorist by India.
India has firmly rubbished Canada's allegations, calling them "absurd" and "motivated" and noting that the Trudeau administration has yet to provide any evidence to back this claim.
India has also repeatedly accused Canada of providing safe haven to those wanted on terrorism charges. In November 2023, the MEA said India had sought either extradition or assistance related to that of more than 20-25 individuals over the years but the response had not been helpful at all.
The MEA pointed out that the Indian government had already taken cognisance of the activities of the Canadian High Commission in India “that serve the political agenda of the current regime” by implementing a principle of reciprocity in diplomatic representations and stated that India now reserves the right “to take further steps” in response to these latest allegations.
“We have received a diplomatic communication from Canada yesterday suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are ‘persons of interest’ in a matter related to an investigation in that country. The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centred around vote bank politics,” the MEA said in its statement.
The MEA called out the Canadian government for a “deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains,” asserting that it had not shared a shred of evidence with the Indian government despite several requests.
“Since Prime Minister Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023, the Canadian Government has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests from the Indian side. “This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains,” the MEA stated.
The MEA went on to say: “Prime Minister Trudeau’s hostility to India has long been in evidence. In 2018, his visit to India, which was aimed at currying favour with a vote bank, rebounded to his discomfort. His Cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India. His naked interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020 showed how far he was willing to go in this regard”.
‘Allegations Serve Anti-India Separatist Agenda that Trudeau Government Panders To’
The MEA statement maintained that Prime Minister Trudeau’s government had deliberately brought in India to mitigate the damage after criticism for turning a blind eye to foreign interference in Canadian politics, adding that the latest allegations also serve the anti-India separatist agenda that his government has constantly pandered to for narrow political gains.
“That his Government was dependent on a political party, whose leader openly espouses a separatist ideology vis-à-vis India, only aggravated matters. Under criticism for turning a blind eye to foreign interference in Canadian politics, his Government has deliberately brought in India in an attempt to mitigate the damage. This latest development targeting Indian diplomats is now the next step in that direction. It is no coincidence that it takes place as Prime Minister Trudeau is to depose before a Commission on foreign interference. It also serves the anti-India separatist agenda that the Trudeau Government has constantly pandered to for narrow political gains,” the MEA noted.
To that end, the MEA pointed out, the Trudeau Government had “consciously” provided space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada.
“This has included death threats to them and to Indian leaders. All these activities have been justified in the name of freedom of speech. Some individuals who have entered Canada illegally have been fast-tracked for citizenship. Multiple extradition requests from the Government of India in respect of terrorists and organised crime leaders living in Canada have been disregarded,” the MEA said.
In its statement, the MEA came up with a strong defence of Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma, describing him as India’s senior most serving diplomat with a distinguished career spanning 36 years. He has been Ambassador in Japan and Sudan, while also serving in Italy, Turkiye, Vietnam and China. “The aspersions cast on him by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt’” the MEA stated.
At the same time, the MEA said the Government of India has taken cognizance of the activities of the Canadian High Commission in India that serve the political agenda of the current regime. This led to the implementation of the principle of reciprocity in regard to diplomatic representation. 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.
“The Government of India has taken cognizance of the activities of the Canadian High Commission in India that serve the political agenda of the current regime. This led to the implementation of the principle of reciprocity in regard to diplomatic representation. 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,” the MEA statement said.
A diplomatic row was triggered between India and Canada after Prime Minister Trudeau made allegations in September 2023 about India’s potential involvement in the death of Nijjar, who had been designated a terrorist by India.
India has firmly rubbished Canada's allegations, calling them "absurd" and "motivated" and noting that the Trudeau administration has yet to provide any evidence to back this claim.
India has also repeatedly accused Canada of providing safe haven to those wanted on terrorism charges. In November 2023, the MEA said India had sought either extradition or assistance related to that of more than 20-25 individuals over the years but the response had not been helpful at all.
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