In a significant move, the Government of India on Monday (October 14) expelled six Canadian diplomats, hours after recalling the Indian high commissioner and some other officials from Canada. The Canadian diplomats have been asked to leave India by or before 11:59 pm on October 19, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. This came in response to Canada's attempt to link them to a probe into the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India has decided to expel the following 6 Canadian Diplomats
- Stewart Ross Wheeler, Acting High Commissioner
- Patrick Hebert, Deputy High Commissioner
- Marie Catherine Joly, First Secretary
- lan Ross David Trites, First Secretary
- Adam James Chuipka, First Secretary
- Paula Orjuela, First Secretary
India summoned Canadian Deputy High Commissioner
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs summoned the Canadian Deputy High Commissioner Stewart Wheeler after slamming the Trudeau government for "preposterous" allegations on Indian envoy Sanjay Kumar Verma during an investigation in Canada. India said it received a diplomatic communication suggesting that Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma and other diplomats are "persons of interest" in an investigation related to Nijjar's death. "The Canadian Charge d'Affaires was summoned by Secretary (East) 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 hard-hitting statement, India said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's hostility towards India has long been in evidence and his government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists "to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada". "We have received a diplomatic communication from Canada yesterday suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are 'persons of interest' in a matter related to an investigation in that country. 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," the statement said.
India-Canada relation
It should be mentioned here that the ties between India and Canada soured after Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he has "credible allegations" of India's hand in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has denied all the allegations, calling them "absurd" and "motivated" and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country. Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India's National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot and killed outside a Gurdwara in Surrey in June last year.
