The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India has placed full responsibility for the deteriorating relations between India and Canada on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. This statement comes after Trudeau’s testimony before a Commission of Inquiry, where he admitted he had no ‘hard evidentiary proof’ when accusing Indian government agents of involvement in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
In the early hours of Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a statement in response to media queries regarding Trudeau’s deposition, some details of which had surfaced in media reports. In its sstatement MEA reiterated India’s long-held stance that Canada has failed to provide any evidence to support the serious allegations it has made.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasized, “What we have heard today only confirms what we have been saying consistently all along – Canada has presented us no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations that it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats.”
Diplomatic Fallout Lies with Trudeau, Says MEA
The Indian government has firmly placed the responsibility for the damage caused to India-Canada relations on Trudeau. The MEA stated, “The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone.”
This follows Trudeau’s claims in a public inquiry that Indian diplomats were allegedly collecting information on Canadians who opposed the Narendra Modi government, and that this information was being passed on to the highest levels within the Indian government and criminal organizations like the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
India Rejects Allegations Linking Agents to Criminal Gangs
India has strongly refuted attempts by Canadian authorities to link Indian agents with criminal gangs in Canada. Sources in New Delhi categorically rejected Ottawa’s claim that it had shared evidence with India in the Nijjar case, stating it was “simply not true.” Moreover, previous allegations made by Trudeau accusing India of covert operations targeting Canadian nationals were also dismissed.
Escalation of Diplomatic Tensions
In response to the escalating diplomatic row, India expelled six Canadian diplomats and withdrew its high commissioner from Canada earlier this week. This followed Ottawa’s allegations linking Indian diplomats to a probe into Nijjar’s killing. The diplomatic fallout marks a significant downturn in already strained relations between the two countries.
The diplomatic rift began in September last year when Trudeau accused India of “potential” involvement in the killing of Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who was declared a terrorist by India. Nijjar was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. India has consistently rejected these allegations as “absurd” and maintained that the main issue between the two countries is Canada’s tolerance of pro-Khalistan elements operating with impunity from Canadian soil.