New Delhi says it rejects the ‘preposterous imputations’, alleging the claims are a part of Canadian PM Trudeau’s ‘political agenda’.
New Delhi is livid over Canada declaring India’s ambassador to Ottawa and different Indian diplomats as “individuals of curiosity” in a matter associated to an investigation, calling the transfer “preposterous” and a part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “vote financial institution politics”.
India-Canada relations have been tense since September 2023 when Trudeau mentioned Canada had credible proof to hyperlink Indian brokers to the assassination of Sikh separatist chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil that yr.
Nijjar supported a Sikh homeland within the type of an independent Khalistani state and was designated by India as a “terrorist” in July 2020.
However New Delhi has repeatedly denied the allegation that its brokers killed him, difficult Canada to share proof to again its declare.
In an announcement on Monday, the Indian Ministry of Exterior Affairs mentioned it “strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Authorities” and mentioned Canada has not supplied any proof “regardless of many requests from our aspect”.
“This newest step follows interactions which have once more witnessed assertions with none info. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there’s a deliberate technique of smearing India for political good points,” the assertion added.
“India now reserves the fitting to take additional steps in response to those newest efforts of the Canadian Authorities to concoct allegations towards Indian diplomats,” mentioned the assertion.
New Delhi additionally alleged the Trudeau authorities “has consciously supplied area to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and neighborhood leaders in Canada”.
Canada pulled out greater than 40 diplomats from India in October 2023 after New Delhi requested Ottawa to cut back its diplomatic presence.
In June this yr, a committee of Canadian parliamentarians named India and China as the principle overseas threats to its democratic establishments, based mostly on enter from intelligence businesses.
India’s envoy in Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, referred to as the report politically motivated and influenced by Sikh separatist campaigners.
Earlier this yr, Trudeau mentioned he hoped India would “interact with us in order that we will resolve this very severe matter”.
Quickly after Canada’s allegation, the USA claimed that Indian brokers had been concerned in an tried assassination plot of one other Sikh separatist chief in New York in 2023, and mentioned it had indicted an Indian nationwide who was working on the behest of an unnamed Indian authorities official.
The assassination plots towards Sikh separatist leaders in Canada and the US have examined their relationship with India, because the Western nations hope to forge deeper ties with New Delhi to counter China’s rising world affect.