India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has sharply rebuked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau following his admission that Canada had no “hard proof” to support its allegations against India concerning the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Trudeau’s statement, made during testimony before Canada’s Commission of Inquiry into foreign interference, was met with a firm response from New Delhi, which reiterated its long-standing position that Canada has failed to present any credible evidence.
In an official statement on Wednesday night, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded to Trudeau’s comments, emphasising that the Canadian government’s lack of hard evidence only validated India’s position. "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," Jaiswal said. He also criticised Trudeau’s “cavalier behaviour,” holding him solely responsible for the deterioration in India-Canada relations. “The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone,” he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, while testifying before the foreign interference inquiry, Trudeau admitted that his government had provided India with intelligence rather than concrete evidence about Nijjar’s killing.
He revealed that India had repeatedly asked Canada for evidence to substantiate the claims, but Canada’s response was limited to providing intelligence data.
“Their ask was…give us the evidence you have on us. Our response was it is within your security agency. You should be looking into how much they know, you should be engaging… ‘No, no but show us the evidence’. At that point, it was primarily intelligence, not hard evidentiary proof. So we said let’s work together…” Trudeau said.
The diplomatic row between India and Canada has escalated since Trudeau’s initial accusations in the Canadian Parliament last year. At that time, Trudeau claimed to have “credible allegations” implicating Indian agents in the assassination of Nijjar.
However, India has categorically denied these accusations, calling them “absurd” and “motivated.” Indian officials have consistently accused the Canadian government of providing a haven for extremist and anti-India elements, particularly those advocating for Khalistani separatism.
Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency in 2020, was killed outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, in June of the previous year. His death has since become a focal point of contention between the two countries.
The situation deteriorated further when Canada labelled India’s High Commissioner and other diplomats as “persons of interest” in the Nijjar investigation, leading to a significant diplomatic standoff.
In a retaliatory move, India expelled six Canadian diplomats earlier this week. This action followed a summons issued to Canada’s Charge d’Affaires, Stewart Wheeler, during which the MEA expressed its strong objections to Canada’s actions.
New Delhi termed the “baseless targeting” of its diplomats as entirely unacceptable, emphasising that the Trudeau government’s behaviour had endangered the safety of Indian officials in Canada.
The MEA stated that the Indian government had decided to withdraw its High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, and other targeted diplomats and officials as a safety precaution.
“The responsibility for these actions lies squarely with Prime Minister Trudeau,” Jaiswal reiterated. He accused the Canadian government of operating in an environment filled with extremism and violence, and suggested that the current Canadian administration had shown a lack of commitment to ensuring the safety and security of Indian diplomats.
He further added that India reserves the right to take additional measures in response to what it views as the Trudeau government’s ongoing support for extremist elements that promote violence and separatism against India.
India’s diplomatic stance was reinforced by a statement earlier this week rejecting a diplomatic communication from Canada that suggested Indian diplomats were “persons of interest” in the ongoing investigation.
The Indian government dismissed these allegations as baseless and politically motivated, linking them to the Trudeau government’s domestic political agenda, which New Delhi claims is influenced by vote-bank politics.
In its statement, the MEA asserted that, since Trudeau made his allegations in September 2023, Canada had not provided any substantial evidence to support its claims. It described the latest developments as another example of Canada’s attempts to smear India’s international reputation without any factual basis.
The MEA stated, “This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains.”
As relations between the two countries continue to strain, India remains firm in its assertion that Canada’s actions are undermining bilateral ties.
It has also expressed doubts about the current Canadian government’s willingness to genuinely engage and collaborate to resolve the issue diplomatically, suggesting that the crisis is largely a product of domestic political manoeuvring by Trudeau’s administration.
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