As we said, no evidence: India on Justin Trudeau’s statement
India said the responsibility for the damage to India-Canada relations lies with Justin Trudeau alone.
New Delhi: In a late night post by the Ministry of External Affairs, India reiterated its stand on the massive diplomatic row with Canada. Putting the responsibility of the disastrous diplomatic fallout directly on Justin Trudeau, the MEA reiterated that “Canada has not presented any evidence before us”.
In its brief-but-sharp response to Mr Trudeau’s statement at the commission of inquiry, the Ministry of External Affairs wrote in its post-midnight statement that “what we have heard today only confirms what we have been saying all along – Canada has not provided us (India) with any evidence to support the serious allegations made against India and Indian diplomats.”
Placing the entire responsibility for the grave diplomatic situation on the conduct of the current Canadian Prime Minister, the statement said that “the damage this reckless behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations rests solely with Prime Minister Trudeau.”
Justin Trudeau’s latest remarks
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified before the commission of inquiry on Wednesday, where he admitted that he had only intelligence-based speculation and no “concrete evidence” when he alleged the involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year.
Stung by India’s stinging rebuttal to his “absurd” allegations and less than 48 hours after New Delhi expelled six top diplomats over what the Canadian prime minister called “politically motivated” behaviour, Mr Trudeau tried to hit back aggressively and claimed that “the Indian government made a terrible mistake thinking they could interfere in Canada’s security and sovereignty as aggressively as they did.” Testifying before a public inquiry into foreign interference in federal electoral processes and democratic institutions, Mr Trudeau alleged that Indian diplomats were “collecting information on Canadians who disagreed” with the Indian government and allegedly “passing it to the highest levels within the Indian government and criminal organisations like the Lawrence Bishnoi gang” – another claim for which neither Mr Trudeau nor the Canadian government or authorities have any evidence. When Mr Trudeau made the same claim two days ago, New Delhi had said in its statement, “The Canadian government has not shared a single shred of evidence with the Indian government despite multiple requests from us. This latest move comes after conversations that have again made claims without any basis in fact. This leaves no doubt that the pretext of an investigation is a deliberate strategy to malign India for political gain.”
Trudeau’s support to Khalistani extremists
India has repeatedly said that the core issue between the two countries is that Canada, particularly Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is providing space and shelter to pro-Khalistan separatists and extremists operating from Canadian soil.
Mr Trudeau has also been seen openly supporting the extremists by attending separatist rallies and even sharing space with declared terrorists. Mr Trudeau has attempted to justify such actions by calling it “Canada’s freedom of expression and speech”.
India has said that the reason behind Mr Trudeau’s words and actions is “his vote bank” – extremists and radicals who are crucial to his electoral gains.
The Indian government said in a statement, “Prime Minister Trudeau’s hostility towards India has been evident for a long time. In 2018, his visit to India with the aim of wooing vote bank made them uncomfortable. His cabinet consists of people who are openly associated with extremist and separatist agenda with regard to India. His open interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020 shows how far he is willing to go in this regard. His government relied on a political party whose leaders openly support separatist ideology with regard to India, which further worsened matters.” Justin Trudeau’s latest remarks come two days after he called the Indian High Commissioner a “person of interest” in the “murder” investigation of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Nijjar. India rejected Mr Trudeau’s allegations, calling them “absurd allegations”. Hardeep Singh Nijjar, declared a terrorist by India, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18 last year.
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