Nijjar Row: Modi Govt Warns Canada Of Action, Reminds Trudeau Of Meeting With Khalistan Supporter

India-Canada Row: The Government of India has taken cognizance of the activities of the Canadian High Commission in India that serve the political agenda of the current regime, said the MEA.

Nijjar Killing Row: PM Narendra Modi's recent visit to Laos and his brief meeting with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has escalated into a fresh controversy between New Delhi and Ottawa. Canada has accused India and its ambassadors of playing a role in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Now, the Modi government has retaliated to Canada's allegation saying that it reserves the right to take necessary action in the matter. The Ministry of External Affairs also accused the Canadian Ambassador in India of serving the 'political agenda of' the Trudeau regime.

"The Government of India has taken cognizance of the activities of the Canadian High Commission in India that serve the political agenda of the current regime. This led to the implementation of the principle of reciprocity in regard to diplomatic representation. India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian Government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats," said the MEA.

On the allegation against the Indian Ambassador Sanjay Kumar Verma, the MEA said, "High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma is India’s senior-most serving diplomat with a distinguished career spanning 36 years. He has been Ambassador in Japan and Sudan, while also serving in Italy, Turkiye, Vietnam and China. The aspersions cast on him by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt."

With a rare direct attack on the head of a foreign country, the Modi government has made it clear that it won't take the allegations being made time and again by the Trudeau government lightly. "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, said the MEA, reminding the Canadian government that in 2018, Trudeau's wife Sophie Trudeau was spotted with Jaspal Atwal, a Khalistani terrorist who was convicted of attempting to murder an Indian politician, during a Mumbai event.