Northern Lights in Canadian skies
New Delhi: The troubled India-Canada diplomatic relationship hit another low after Canada suggested that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are ‘persons of interest’ in a matter related to an investigation in that country.
have no faith in the current Canadian Government’s commitment to ensure their securityExternal Affairs (MEA) today said it received a diplomatic communication from Canada yesterday, and made it clear that the Government of India today strongly rejected “these preposterous imputations”.
India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma is India’s senior-most serving diplomat with a distinguished career spanning 36 years. He has been an 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.
India ascribed Canada’s communication to the political agenda of the Justin Trudeau Government that “is centred around vote bank politics”, and said the activities of the Canadian High Commission in India served the political agenda of the current Canadian 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 said.
Since Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023 about India’s involvement in the murder of Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 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. It noted that Prime Minister Trudeau’s hostility to India had 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,” it stated.
That Trudeau’s 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,” the MEA said.
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 said, asserting that to that end, 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 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 MEA said.
– global bihari bureau
Image by brigachtal from Pixabay
