Vancouver: Amid the ongoing diplomatic dispute between India and Canada, New Delhi’s envoy to Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, has accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of damaging relations between the two countries, stating he had no involvement in the killing of a Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and that the allegations against him are “politically motivated.”
Verma, who was expelled last Monday along with five other Indian diplomats, has denied any involvement in the murder of Nijjar, who was killed in British Columbia last year, even though the Canadian government has named him as a person of interest in the assassination. Verma said that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations over Nijjar’s killing were based on intelligence inputs rather than concrete evidence.
In an interview with Canada’s private broadcaster CTV News aired on Sunday, Verma said that Trudeau’s allegations over Nijjar’s killing were based on intelligence inputs rather than concrete evidence. “The problem is that when he accused, he himself admitted there was no hard evidence. There was intelligence. On the basis of intelligence, if you want to destroy a relationship, be my guest. And that’s what he (Trudeau) did,” Verma said.
The Indian diplomat said Canada didn’t follow the practice which should have been there. “Evidence should have been shared first, but someone decided to stand in the Parliament and talk about a thing for which he himself has said there was ‘no hard evidence’,” he said, referring to Trudeau’s address in the Canadian Parliament in September last year when he alleged involvement of Indian government’s agents in the killing of Nijjar.
“And the day on which he did that, since then, he has made it sure that the bilateral relation with India only goes downwards, spiralling down,” the diplomat said.
Canada has not shared a “shred of evidence” with India in the case relating to the killing of Nijjar and Ottawa’s charges against Indian diplomats are “politically motivated”, said Verma during the interview. The envoy has also rejected Ottawa’s charge of the Indian government’s involvement in targeting certain individuals in Canada.
Verma said, “We needed to see some evidence on the basis of which we can converse with our Canadian counterparts. Unfortunately, not a shred of evidence has been shared with us. Any evidence shared has to be legally acceptable.”
When questioned about the allegations levelled against him by Canadian authorities, the Indian envoy firmly denied any involvement in the Nijjar case. “I, as the High Commissioner of India, have never done anything of that kind,” Verma stated. When asked if he had any role in the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed outside a cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023, he replied, “Nothing at all. No evidence was presented (by Canada). (This is) politically motivated.”
Relations between India and Canada severely deteriorated after Canada linked Verma and several other Indian diplomats to the case. Rejecting the charges, New Delhi last week announced recalling High Commissioner Verma and five other diplomats from Ottawa while expelling six Canadian diplomats from India. On its part, Canada said it expelled the Indian envoy and five other diplomats.
The Canadian authorities also accused Indian agents of involvement in “homicides, extortion and violent acts” targeting pro-Khalistan supporters. India has trashed the charges. Verma said India is a country of rule of law and anything acceptable in the Canadian court of law would also be acceptable in the Indian court of law and therefore evidence will work.
“Unfortunately we have not got anything from Canadian officials which can lead us to a better spot,” he said.
In the interview aired on Sunday, while replying to a question, Verma said he condemns Nijjar’s murder. “Any murder is wrong and bad. I do condemn and that is what I have said in many interviews. Let’s get to the bottom of the issue.”
The row intensified after the Canadian authorities described Verma and some other Indian diplomats as “persons of interest” in the probe into the killing of Nijjar.
Asked about some Canadian officials wishing to visit India to share evidence in the case, he said they wanted to leave for India on October 8 and provided the completed visa application form that day only. “Visas needed to be affixed for any delegation,” he said, adding “for any government delegation to travel to another country, you need an agenda to go by. There was no agenda at all.”
“There was no agenda shared with us. Agenda was shared at the last minute, I believe, after the flight would have departed,” he said.
Verma said, “I think it was pre-planned. They knew that visas cannot be issued in half an hour or in an hour and therefore they did it. I think it was absolutely politically motivated.”
The Indian high commissioner said India has been asking for evidence in the case. “In fact, we have been asking for (evidence for) the last one year, which the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) has also said,” he said. “And then if you do not share with us the reason for your visit, how do we know?” Verma said.
“The problem is that when he accused, he himself admitted there was no hard evidence. There was intelligence. On the basis of intelligence, if you want to destroy a relationship, be my guest. And that’s what he (Trudeau) did,” Verma said.
Testifying before the public inquiry into foreign interference in federal electoral processes and democratic institutions last week, Trudeau admitted that he had only intelligence and no “hard evidentiary proof” when he alleged the involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of Nijjar.
Nijjar, who was declared a terrorist by India, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18 last year.
The diplomatic dispute between India and Canada, which had been brewing for some time, has flared up again, with both nations expelling diplomats after accusations that Indian government agents were involved in activities endangering the safety of Canadians. The relations between the two countries came under severe strain following Trudeau’s allegations in September last year of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar’s killing. New Delhi rejected Trudeau’s charges as “absurd”.
India has been maintaining that the main issue between the two countries is that of Canada giving space to pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil with impunity. India has strongly rejected attempts by Canadian authorities to link Indian agents with criminal gangs in Canada with official sources in New Delhi even saying that Ottawa’s assertion that it shared evidence with New Delhi in the Nijjar case was simply not true.
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