India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar reiterated India's stance over the Canadian government's inaction against pro-Khalistan activities in the North American country, affirming that anti-India groups have been given space to spread their radical ideology there.
"The issue at heart is the fact that in Canadian politics, these Khalistani forces have been given a lot of space and have been allowed to indulge in activities which I think are damaging to the relationship, clearly not in India's interest, and not in Canada's interest either. But unfortunately, that is the state of their politics," Jaishankar told ANI in an interview.
India's top diplomat also underlined that the G20 summit held in New Delhi last September had no link whatsoever to the issue of Khalistan in Canada.
"The Khalistan issue is not new. The Khalistan issue has existed for years...I can explain my government, my prime minister, and my book. It's not for me to speculate on other prime ministers," he added.
India-Canada Row Over Khalistani Extremists
Diplomatic relations between New Delhi and Ottawa have turned sour in recent months, particularly after pro-Khalistan groups threatened Indian diplomats in Canada in 2023.
Besides, Khalistan supporters attacked the Indian embassy in Ottawa, painted Hindu places of worship with anti-India Graffiti, and raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
However, the ties between the two countries completely nosedived in September 2023 after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused "agents of the Indian government" of carrying out the killing of proscribed Khalistan militant Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India called Canada's allegations absurd and politically motivated.
Indian EAM on Western Media's Meltdown Over His Recent Visit to Russia
In addition to India's ties with Canada, Jaishankar spoke about why the South Asian nation's relations with Russia were important.
"If people can't read me, that means my mind games are working. But the answer is honestly I see no reason that people should take any, you know what was happening other than at face value because we have always maintained that the Russia relationship is a very important one, very steady one," he stressed.
Late last month, Jaishankar visited the Eurasian country for five days, holding meetings with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin.
The two countries emphasised their historic ties before announcing that they would cooperate in multiple sectors, including in the field of defence where joint production of modern and advanced weapons systems was agreed upon.