New Delhi: India has recalled High Commissioner Sanjay K. Verma as a mark of protest. India reacted with a sense of injustice to Canada’s branding of India’s ambassador to Ottawa and other Indian diplomats as “persons of interest” in an inquiry, calling the move “preposterous” and part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “vote bank politics”.

This evening, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) made a strong statement by summoning the Canadian Charge d’Affaires and unequivocally rejecting Canada’s actions. The MEA informed the Canadian official that the baseless targeting of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable.

The MEA’s statement underscored India’s disbelief in the current Canadian Government’s commitment to ensure the safety of Indian diplomats. It was stated that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau Government’s actions endangered their safety, leading to the decision to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials.

Further, the statement read, “It was also conveyed that India reserves the right to take further steps in response to the Trudeau Government’s support for extremism, violence and separatism against India.”

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

India-Canada relations have been strained since September 2023, when Trudeau stated that Canada had credible evidence linking Indian operatives to the death of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil that year.

Although Justin Trudeau accused India of involvement in Nijjar’s killing, he has not been able to provide concrete evidence supporting his accusations. India has repeatedly asked Canada to provide proof of India’s participation in Nijjar’s murder, casting doubt on the validity of Trudeau’s claims.

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