With India expelling 6 Canadian diplomats including acting high commissioner and deputy high commissioner, and issuing them an ultimatum to leave India by 11:59 PM, October 19, 2024, the ties between both countries soured further.
Earlier, in an unusually strong rebuttal, India summons Canada’s charge d’ affairs in Delhi Stewart Wheeler over unacceptable allegations against Indian diplomats in a murder investigation. Not only this, India has called back the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials to India stating no trust in current Canadian Government’s Security.
Early on Monday, India strongly reacted to Canada’s allegations against Indian diplomats calling them ‘persons of interest’ in a murder investigation. In a detailed statement India robustly rejected these allegations and called them preposterous imputations calling out the political agenda of the Trudeau Government centered around vote bank politics.
An excerpt from the statement read, “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 our 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”.
MEA statement cited Trudeau’s 2018 visit to India calling it “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. That his government was dependent on a political party, whose leader openly espouses a separatist ideology vis-a-vis India, only aggravated matters,” the MEA said.
India exposed the Trudeau Government stooping to new lows for narrow political gains, with the latest development targeting Indian diplomats.
“The Trudeau Government has 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 organized crime leaders living in Canada have been disregarded”, the statement added.
The statement highlighted India’s High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma’s distinguished career. India’s senior most serving diplomat with a 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.
Background
Since September 2023, relations between India and Canada witnessed a significant friction following Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s remarks of potential involvement of india agents in killing of Hardeep Nijjar on Canadian soil. Nijjar had been wanted by Indian Authorities for terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.
By, Meghna Dev (DDIndia)