Canada consistently has given space to anti-India extremists: MEA on Nijjar row

New Delhi Thursday reiterated that Canada has consistently given space to anti-India extremists and said its diplomatic representatives have borne the brunt if this.

“In so far as Canada is concerned, we have said that they have consistently given space to anti-India extremists and that is actually the heart of the issue. Our diplomatic representatives in Canada have borne the brunt of this,” the spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, said on Thursday.

Bagchi further said India expects the Government of Canada to live up to its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. “We have also seen interference by Canadian diplomats in our internal affairs and that is unacceptable,” he added.

#WATCH | MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi says, “In so far as Canada is concerned, we have said that they have consistently given space to anti-India extremists and that is actually the heart of the issue. Our diplomatic representatives in Canada have borne the brunt of this. So,… pic.twitter.com/9bLFO4qq56

— ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2023

In September this year, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishakar had said the Indian diplomats in Canada are "unsafe" when they go to embassy or the consulate.

"They (Indian diplomats) are publicly intimidated. And that has actually compelled me to temporarily suspend even visa operations in Canada," the minister added.

Diplomatic ties between India and Canada have been strained since Trudeau alleged that there was a "potential link" between agents of the Indian government with the murder of a Khalistani terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in June this year.

India strongly denied the allegations with Jaishankar saying allegations were raised by Trudeau first "privately and then publicly".

India had also said Trudeau had made the allegations to divert attention from the activities of Khalistan operatives living in Canada, and called for effective action against them.

In a tit for tat move, India also expelled a senior Canadian diplomat after Canada expelled a diplomat from the Indian High Commission in Ottawa.

In a media briefing on Thursday, Bagchi also said the case against an individual, Nikhil Gupta, 52, that has been filed in a US court, allegedly linking him to an Indian official, is a "matter of concern."

Also Read: Matter of concern, will look into all relevant aspects: MEA on US claims on Pannun murder plot

"As regards the case against an individual that has been filed in a US court, allegedly linking him to an Indian official, this is a matter of concern. We have said that this is also contrary to government policy," the MEA spokesperson said.

Gupta has been charged with murder-for-hire in connection with his participation in a foiled plot to assassinate a US citizen in New York City. While the indictment does not name the US citizen who was the target of the assassination plot, a report by The Financial Times last week cited unnamed sources saying that US authorities thwarted a plot to assassinate banned Sikhs for Justice's Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, and issued a warning to the Indian government over concerns it was involved in the plot.

Bagchi further said the nexus between organised crime, trafficking, gunrunning and extremists at an international level is a serious issue for the law enforcement agencies and organisations to consider and it is for that reason that a high-level inquiry committee has been constituted and we will be guided by its results."

With inputs from agencies