'We have no faith in...': India withdraws High Commissioner, diplomats from Canada

Canada PM Justin Trudeau with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Centre has decided to withdraw the Indian High Commissioner in Canada after the North American country linked him and other Indian diplomats to an investigation where they are ‘persons of interest’, a statement issued by the external affairs ministry on Monday evening said.

"The Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, summoned the Canadian Charge d'Affaires this evening. He was informed that the baseless targeting of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable," the MEA said in a statement.

"It was underlined that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau Government's actions endangered their safety. We have no faith in the current Canadian Government's commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the Government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials," read the press release.

"It was also conveyed that India reserves the right to take further steps in response to the Trudeau Government’s support for extremism, violence and separatism against India," it added.

"Since (Canadian) Prime Minister Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023, the Canadian government has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests from our side," the MEA said.

The relations between India and Canada came under severe strain following Prime Minister Trudeau's allegations in September last year of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar.

VIDEO | Here's what Canada's Charge dAffaires (CDA), Stewart Wheeler, said on being summoned by New Delhi after Canada named Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma as a 'person of interest' in its investigation into Hardeep Nijjar's killing.(Full video available on PTI pic.twitter.com/BM5m3zX7AB
Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 14, 2024

"Canada has provided proof," says Charge d'Affaires Stewart Wheeler

Canadian Charge d'Affaires Stewart Wheeler claimed that Canada had provided proof of ties between agents of the government and the murder of an Candadian citizen

"Canada has provided credible, irrefutable evidence of ties between agents of the Government of India and the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil. Now, it is time for India to live up to what it said it would do and look into all those allegations. It is in the interest of both our countries and the people of our countries to get to the bottom of this. Canada stands ready to cooperate with India."

Earlier, in its statement, the MEA also made a mention of what it called Prime Minister Trudeau's "naked interference" in Indian internal politics in December 2020, apparently recalling the Canadian leader's comments during the farmers' agitation.

On Canada's latest charges, the MEA said it "leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains".

It said Prime Minister Trudeau's hostility to India has long been in evidence. In 2018, his visit to India, "which was aimed at currying favour with a vote bank, rebounded to his discomfort". "His Cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India," the MEA said.

"His naked interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020 showed how far he was willing to go in this regard," it said. "That his Government was dependent on a political party, whose leader openly espouses a separatist ideology vis-a-vis India, only aggravated matters," it said.

"Under criticism for turning a blind eye to foreign interference in Canadian politics, his government has deliberately brought in India in an attempt to mitigate the damage," the MEA said. It said this latest development targeting Indian diplomats is now the next step in that direction. "It is no coincidence that it takes place as Prime Minister Trudeau is to depose before a commission on foreign interference," it said.

"It also serves the anti-India separatist agenda that the Trudeau Government has constantly pandered to for narrow political gains," it said. "To that end, the Trudeau government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada. This has included death threats to them and to Indian leaders," the MEA said.

"All these activities have been justified in the name of freedom of speech. Some individuals who have entered Canada illegally have been fast-tracked for citizenship. "Multiple extradition requests from the Government of India in respect of terrorists and organized crime leaders living in Canada have been disregarded," it added.

The MEA said 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," it said. "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," it said.

*With Agency Inputs