India Tears Into Canadian PM Justin Trudeau for His Hostility

India has decided to withdraw its High Commissioner, Sanjay Verma, and other vulnerable diplomats from Canada due to concerns about their security, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) conveyed to Canadian Charge d’Affaires (CdA) Stewart Wheeler in New Delhi on Monday evening.

"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. 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," Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East) at the MEA, told the Canadian diplomat.

The MEA told the Canadian CdA that the "baseless targeting" of Indian High Commissioner and other Indian diplomats in Canada was "completely unacceptable".

"It was underlined that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau Government's actions endangered their safety," the MEA said in a statement.

The diplomatic move by New Delhi came hours after India took a strong exception to a diplomatic communication from Canadian authorities, who have labelled the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats as "persons of interest" in an investigation.

"The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centered around vote bank politics," MEA said in a statement.

The MEA reiterated its charge that the Canadian government hadn't shared a "shred of evidence" with the Indian authorities since last September, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed in Parliament that Ottawa was pursuing "credible allegations" linking Indian government "agents" to the killing of pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead by unidentified men in a Vancouver suburb in June 2023.

"This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains," the Indian foreign ministry stated.

Further, the MEA called out Canadian Prime Minister and members of his cabinet for constantly "currying favour with a vote bank", recalling Trudeau's controversial visit to New Delhi and Punjab.

"His Cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India. His naked interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020 showed how far he was willing to go in this regard. That his Government was dependent on a political party [New Democratic Party], whose leader [Jagmeet Singh] openly espouses a separatist ideology vis-à-vis India, only aggravated matters," the Indian statement stressed, referencing NDP leader Jagmeet Singh's support for Khalistan.

The MEA accused Trudeau of deliberately raking up India's name in the debate around foreign interference, saying that the Canadian PM was under criticism by his opponents for "turning a blind eye" to the issue in Canadian politics.

"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 also serves the anti-India separatist agenda that the Trudeau Government has constantly pandered to for narrow political gains," the MEA underscored.

Trudeau had provided political space to violent extremists and terrorists to "harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada", the statement highlighted.

"This has included death threats to them and to Indian leaders. 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.

Further, the MEA noted the significant diplomatic track record of its High Commissioner , who has been sought for an investigation by the Canadian government.

"He (Sanjay Verma) 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," the statement said.

Lastly, the MEA warned the Canadian government that the Canadian High Commission in India was serving the "political agenda" of the Trudeau regime.

"This led to the implementation of the principle of reciprocity in regard to diplomatic representation. India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian Government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats," the MEA concluded.

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