PM Modi not too long ago met with Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit. (FILE)
The authorities has determined to withdraw its High Commissioner in Canada after Ottawa linked him and another Indian diplomats to the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. “We don’t have any religion within the present Canadian Government’s dedication to make sure their safety,” the federal government conveyed to the Canadian Charge d’Affaires who was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) this night.
“It was underlined that in an environment of extremism and violence, the Trudeau Government’s actions endangered their security. We don’t have any religion within the present Canadian Government’s dedication to make sure their safety. Therefore, the Government of India has determined to withdraw the High Commissioner and different focused diplomats and officers,” the international ministry stated.
The ties between the 2 nations plunged additional after Canada stated it was investigating the Indian High Commissioner as a “particular person of curiosity” within the killing of Nijjar.
The Foreign Ministry obtained a “diplomatic communication from Canada yesterday suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and different diplomats are ‘individuals of curiosity’ in a matter associated to an investigation in that nation”.
It stated that the aspersions solid on High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma by Canada had been “ludicrous”.
“High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma is India’s senior-most serving diplomat with a distinguished profession spanning 36 years. He has been an Ambassador in Japan and Sudan, whereas additionally serving in Italy, Turkiye, Vietnam and China. The aspersions solid on him by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and should be handled with contempt,” the international ministry stated.
It hit out on the “preposterous” allegations, terming them a “technique of smearing India for political positive aspects”.
The authorities additionally knowledgeable the senior diplomat of Canada this night that the “baseless concentrating on of the Indian High Commissioner and different diplomats and officers in Canada was utterly unacceptable”.
It was additionally conveyed that India reserves the appropriate to take additional steps in response to the Trudeau Government’s assist for extremism, violence and separatism towards India, it stated.
The authorities assertion this morning slammed Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau’s “hostility to India”, including, in 2018, his go to to India, “which was geared toward currying favour with a vote financial institution, rebounded to his discomfort”.
“His Cabinet has included people who’ve brazenly related to an extremist and separatist agenda concerning India,” it stated.
Last yr, India curbed visas for Canadians and compelled Ottawa to withdraw diplomats.
The newest dip within the ties comes simply days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assembly with Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Laos. While Trudeau described the assembly as a “temporary change”, sources in New Delhi stated there was no substantive dialogue between the 2 leaders.
PM Modi and Trudeau’s first assembly after Canada raised allegations concerning Nijjar’s demise was on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy in June this yr.
India has been sustaining that the primary challenge between the 2 nations is that of Canada – dwelling to round 7,70,000 Sikhs – giving house to pro-Khalistan parts “working from their soil with impunity”, sources in New Delhi stated.
Trudeau, in the meantime, has insisted that his stand on the matter stays the identical.