Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government on Monday of making a “fundamental error” by allegedly supporting violence on Canadian soil.
His remarks follow allegations from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which claimed that Indian government agents were involved in “widespread violence,” including homicide, and posed a “serious threat to public safety.”
The allegations are linked to an investigation conducted by Ottawa into the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in a Vancouver suburb in June 2023. Last year, Trudeau accused India of being involved in the killing, without providing any evidence. New Delhi has vehemently denied the charges and asked Canada for proof to substantiate the claims.
Following the announcement by the Canadian police, both New Delhi and Ottawa expelled six diplomats, including high commissioners, in a tit-for-tat move.
Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly said in a statement on Monday that the decision to expel the diplomats “was made with great consideration” and only after the police “gathered ample, clear and concrete evidence which identified six individuals as persons of interest in the Nijjar case.”
Addressing a news conference later on Monday, Trudeau said it is “obvious that the government of India miscalculated by thinking they could support criminal activities against Canadians here.”
“No country, especially a democracy that values the rule of law, can accept such a fundamental violation of its sovereignty,” he added.
Earlier in the day, New Delhi accused the Trudeau-led government of a “deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains,” adding that it would withdraw its diplomats as it has “no faith” in Ottawa’s commitment to ensuring their security.
“The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government which is centered around vote bank politics,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “The Trudeau Government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada.”
Relations between the two countries plummeted last year after Trudeau claimed to have credible information connecting the Indian government to the assassination of Nijjar. India has accused Canada of harboring extremists on its soil, claiming that Ottawa appeases them for political gain. The 1.8 million-strong Indian diaspora in Canada, mostly of Sikh ethnicity, is an influential bloc in the country.
The Nijjar case is connected to an assassination attempt on Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a prominent Khalistan leader based in New York who holds Canadian and American citizenship. In November, US prosecutors accused Indian national Nikhil Gupta of taking part in a plot to murder Pannun, alleging collaboration with an unnamed Indian government official. New Delhi established a special committee to investigate the matter. Media reports suggest that the US and Canada have shared intelligence related to both cases, as they are part of the Five Eyes alliance, which includes the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.