The Ministry of External Affairs has strongly rejected the latest allegations made by Canada where it suggested that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are ‘persons of interest’ in a matter related to the investigation of the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the chief of the Canada-based Khalistan Tiger Force who was also one of India’s most wanted terrorists, in July 2023.
“The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centered around vote bank politics,” India state in its response. The Ministry also claimed that the allegation made by Canada without any facts on 13th October 2024 “leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains”.
Further, India alleged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of being hostile towards the country citing his visit to India in 2018 which it said was “aimed at currying favour with a vote bank, including individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India in his cabinet and his naked interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020.
The MEA also stated that the latest development targeting Indian diplomats also serves “the anti-India separatist agenda that the Trudeau Government has constantly pandered to for narrow political gains.” Furthermore, it accused the Trudeau Government of consciously providing space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada. All these activities have been justified in the name of freedom of speech, it added.
It also claimed that some individuals who have entered Canada illegally have been fast-tracked for citizenship and that the country had turned down multiple extradition requests from the Government of India in respect of terrorists and organized crime leaders living in Canada.
“High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma is 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 statement said.
The Ministry said that 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. 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.
