Candian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
New Delhi: Concerned about the interference of Canadian diplomats in its internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities, India today expelled a Canadian diplomat India who has been asked to leave the country within the next five days. The High Commissioner of Canada to India was summoned today and informed about the decision of the Government of India to expel a senior Canadian diplomat based in India, the Ministry of External Affairs stated here. Earlier, Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced the expelling of a top Indian diplomat, Pavan Kumar Rai, from Canada, accusing him of being a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) operative.
India today further rejected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Pierre James Trudeau’s allegations about India’s involvement in the murder of Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023.
“Allegations of the Government of India’s involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated. Similar allegations were made by the Canadian Prime Minister to our Prime Minister and were completely rejected. We are a democratic polity with a strong commitment to the rule of law,” the MEA stated. It added: “We have seen and reject the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their Foreign Minister.”
Strongly rebutting Trudeu’s allegations India further stated that such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “The inaction of the Canadian Government on this matter has been a long-standing and continuing concern,” the MEA stated, adding that Canadian political figures have openly expressed sympathy for such elements which remains a matter of “deep concern”.
It further noted that the space given in Canada to a range of illegal activities including murders, human trafficking and organised crime “is not new. We reject any attempts to connect the Government of India to such developments”.
India also urged the Government of Canada to take prompt and effective legal action against all anti-India elements operating from their soil.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress Party also criticised Trudeau’s remarks against India and its general secretary Jairam Ramesh posted on X, “The Indian National Congress has always believed that our country’s fight against terrorism has to be uncompromising, especially when terrorism threatens India’s sovereignty, unity, and integrity. Our country’s interests and concerns must be kept paramount at all times”.
It may be mentioned that Tredeau’s participation in the G20 Summit in New Delhi was under much scrutiny back home where the Opposition slammed him for not only making relations with India worse but also getting Canada distanced from its key allies.
“The photo by Canadian Press photographer Sean Kilpatrick showed American President Joe Biden pointing a finger in Trudeau’s face. Neither man appeared happy in this moment, both seemed tense, and Biden appeared to be lecturing,” wrote Lilley in The Toronto Sun.
That Tredeau skipped the dinner for the G20 leaders on September 9, 2023, too, did not go unnoticed back home, as so did the remarks by the Indian Prime Minister’s Office the very next day that PM Narendra Modi conveyed India’s “strong concerns” about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada to Tredeau during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. “They are promoting secessionism and inciting violence against Indian diplomats, damaging diplomatic premises, and threatening the Indian community in Canada and their places of worship,” the PMO stated.
“Given the power of the Sikh community in Canada, he [Trudeau] is siding with them [Khalistanis] even if it hurts Canada economically,” Lilley wrote in the same article, adding that Trudeau was catering to his narrow political interests.
Earlier this month, Canada had also suspended negotiations on a trade deal with India, taking the relations between the two nations to a new low
Canada’s leader of the opposition, Pierre Poilievre, posted a scathing remark on X (formerly Twitter) on September 11, 2023, “Putting partisanship aside, no one likes to see a Canadian prime minister repeatedly humiliated and trampled upon by the rest of the world”.
– global bihari bureau
