‘Smear campaign': India reacts to Canadian media report on Nijjar killing
India | November 20, 2024 23:53 ISTIn response, MEA said such smear campaigns will further damage the already strained ties between the two countries.
In response, MEA said such smear campaigns will further damage the already strained ties between the two countries.
Billionaire Elon Musk has forecasted the political downfall of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the upcoming federal election, set to occur by October 2025.
Hindu Sabha Mandir President Madhusudan Lama has suspended the pundit who spread violent rhetoric. The Ontario Sikhs and Gurdwara Council denounced the acts of violence at the Hindu Sabha on Sunday night.
The ties between India and Canada had come under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in September last year of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
Trudeau underlined Diwali’s significance to one of the country’s largest and most diverse diasporas. “Happy Diwali! Today, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain families will celebrate the triumph of light over darkness with festivities...," he wrote on social media.
India's high commissioner to Canada has denied any involvement in the murder of a Canadian terrorist who was killed outside a gurdwara last year. Verma said he was shocked when he was declared a 'person of interest' by Canada in the murder case of a Khalistani terrorist.
A smiling Trudeau, who emerged saying the party was "strong and united," insists he will lead the Liberals into the next election, which must be held by the end of October 2025.
Verma condemned Nijjar's death. "Any murder is wrong and bad," he said."I do condemn." Verma also pushed back on comments made by Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly that compared India to Russia.
Trudeau stated that Prime Minister Modi gave the "usual" reply, expressing a desire to see outspoken critics of the Indian government in Canada arrested.
India-Canada Diplomatic Row: Trudeau on Wednesday acknowledged that he had only intelligence and no "hard evidentiary proof" when he alleged the involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year. Watch the video to know MEA's response.
Trudeau on Wednesday acknowledged that he had only intelligence and no "hard evidentiary proof" when he alleged the involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year.
Trudeau said the Indian side asked for evidence "and our response was, well, it's within your security agencies." But the Indian side insisted on the evidence. "And at that point, it was primarily intelligence, not hard evidentiary proof," said Trudeau.
As relations between India and Canada soar, countries like the US and UK, both of whom are part of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. Both countries have supported Canada's claims and have called on India to cooperate with the probe on Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing.
India-Canada ties, already fraught with tensions over Justin Trudeau's allegations in 2023, deteriorated further when New Delhi recalled its High Commissioner and expelled six Canadian diplomats. Canada has accused India of being involved in Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing.
"We have wanted to see India take the allegations seriously and cooperate with Canada's investigation. However, they have chosen an alternate path," the US State Department said over Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing row.
The fresh developments are a major downturn in already frosty ties between India and Canada. However, while diplomatic relations may have soured, businesses on both sides have continued to engage, insulated from the political noise.
Canada expelled six Indian diplomats in a tit-for-tat move after India asked Canadian diplomats to leave the country by October 19, marking a severe escalation in the diplomatic row. Canada had attempted to link the diplomats in a probe related to a Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Nijjar's killing.
India strongly dismissed Canada's allegations linking the envoy to a probe into the killing of Sikh extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The Ministry of External Affairs said it received a diplomatic communication on Sunday suggesting that Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma and other diplomats are "persons of interest" in an investigation there. The MEA rejected the latest charges as "preposterous implications".
Trudeau described the meeting as a "brief exchange" when the two leaders met during the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Vientiane, Laos held on Thursday.
Top News
Latest News
