India, Canada at diplomatic battle again as Treudeu renews anti-India rant

India and Canada returned to diplomatic battle with the Government of India ordering six Canadian diplomats, including acting high commissioner Stewart Ross Wheeler, out of the country. They have been asked to leave the country within the next five days.

The Canadian officials, who also include Deputy High Commissioner Patrick Hebert, First Secretary Marie Catherine Joly, First Secretary Ian Ross David Trites, First Secretary Adam James Chuipka and First Secretary Paula Orjuela, have been given time until 11:59 PM on Saturday, 19 October 2024, to leave the country.

In a tit-for-tat action, Canada also expelled six Indian diplomats, including high commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma.

India, however, said it is recalling its high commissioner and diplomats from Canada over safety concerns after the Trudeau administration cast aspersions on Indian diplomats saying that its inquiry has found the mission staff as “persons of interest” in the 2023 shooting of a Khalistani terrorist in Canada.

Earlier, on Monday, India’s foreign office summoned Canada’s charge d' affairs in New Delhi as relations with the Canadian government hit new lows after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued fresh innuendoes against India related to the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in that country.

Trudeau now says that an enquiry into the 2023 shooting of terrorist Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, has named India’s high commissioner and other diplomats in Canada as "persons of interest." 

A statement issued by India’s ministry of external affairs said it received a diplomatic communication from Canada on Sunday, and that it reserved the right to respond to the “preposterous imputations," in it.

Canada’s Trudeau administration is hanging on to its allegation that the Indian government may have been involved in the killing of the Khalistani terrorist on Canadian soil. 

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) also released a public statement alleging connection between agents of Indian government and various criminal acts in Canada, including homicides and organised crime targeting Khalistanis. 

The statement did not specify the crimes or the persons involved in the acts of crime. However, Canadian authorities claim they have presented evidence directly to Indian officials. They also want India to investigate the incidents of violence.

Canada has so far refused to provide India with any valid proof of its allegations. At the same time, the Canadian government continues to shield and shelter Khalistani terrorists like Hardeep Singh Nijjar despite repeated requests by the Indian government to hand over the terrorists to Indian authorities.

The external affairs ministry said Canada's allegations were part of Trudeau's "political agenda" and is intended to remain in power with Khalistani support.

The external affairs ministry said the Canadian government’s move to malign India by casting aspersions on High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma, a distinguished career diplomat with over 36 years of unblemished record, is ludicrous and can only be treated with contempt.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani gang leader supported and nurtured by the Canadian government, was shot and killed in June 2023 by two masked gunmen outside a Sikh gurudwara in Surrey, British Columbia, in May last year.

Trudeau had, in September 2023, accused India of involvement in the killing of Nijjar, on the basis of what he said, intelligence inputs and police finding of "targeted attack".

He also termed it as a violation of Canada's sovereignty.

Canada, however, has not provided India with any valid proof to support its allegations even as it continues to harp on Indian involvement in the killing of the terrorist.