New Delhi/IBNS: India on Monday called Canada's fresh accusations against New Delhi's High Commissioner and other diplomats in connection with a murder investigation an act of "vote bank politics" by the Justin Trudeau government.

India responded sharply after Canada called the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats "persons of interest" in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

In a long statement, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, "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.

"Since Prime Minister Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023, the Canadian Government has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests from our side. This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains."

India and Canada have been on the loggerheads for quite some time now on the issue of Khalistan and the separatist movement in India bankrolled from abroad.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last year claimed in the country's Parliament that his government had "credible allegations" linking the killing of Nijjar in June 2023 with the "agents of the Government of India".

Asked whether India had been given any evidence of involvement in the killing, New Delhi reiterated the country's consistent stand.

"Let me first make it clear that no specific or relevant evidence or information has been shared by the Canadian authorities in regard to this matter till date. You will therefore understand our view that the matter is being pre-judged. Obviously, there are political interests at work. We have long maintained that separatists, extremists and those advocating violence have been given political space in Canada," the Indian government said.

"Our diplomats have been threatened with impunity and obstructed in their performance of duties. We have also pointed to the Canadian authorities that figures associated with organised crime with links with India have been allowed entry and residency in Canada. Many of our extradition requests are pending. We are having discussions at the diplomatic level on all these matters."

Four Indian nationals have been arrested in Canada in connection with the killing of Nijjar.

In June 2023, the Parliament of Canada had observed a moment of silence in Nijjar's memory prompting India to hold a memorial service in Vancouver paying tributes to 329 people who died in a flight bombing by Khalistani terrorists in 1985.

Nijjar, 45, was shot dead in June last year outside a gurdwara in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population.

MEA's response in detail

Prime Minister Trudeau’s hostility to India has long been in evidence. In 2018, his visit to India, which was aimed at currying favour with a vote bank, rebounded to his discomfort. His Cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India. His naked interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020 showed how far he was willing to go in this regard.

That his Government was dependent on a political party, whose leader openly espouses a separatist ideology vis-à-vis India, only aggravated matters. Under criticism for turning a blind eye to foreign interference in Canadian politics, his Government has deliberately brought in India in an attempt to mitigate the damage. This latest development targeting Indian diplomats is now the next step in that direction.

It is no coincidence that it takes place as Prime Minister Trudeau is to depose before a Commission on foreign interference. It also serves the anti-India separatist agenda that the Trudeau Government has constantly pandered to for narrow political gains.

To that end, the Trudeau Government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada. This has included death threats to them and to Indian leaders. All these activities have been justified in the name of freedom of speech. Some individuals who have entered Canada illegally have been fast-tracked for citizenship.

Multiple extradition requests from the Government of India in respect of terrorists and organized crime leaders living in Canada have been disregarded.