India’s ambassador to Canada and other Indian diplomats are “persons of interest” in an “investigational matter” in Canada, the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday, citing a diplomatic message from Ottawa.
New Delhi rejected the “unreasonable assumptions” of the Canadian claim, saying it was part of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “political agenda” centered around “vote bank politics.”
Relations between New Delhi and Ottawa have cooled since September 2023, when Trudeau said Canada had credible evidence linking Indian agents to the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader that year, sparking a strong reaction from New Delhi, which denied the allegation.
India has repeatedly said that Canada has not shared any evidence to support its claims.
The Indian Foreign Ministry said it received a diplomatic message from Canada on Sunday, but the statement did not provide any details about the investigation.
He added, “This latest step comes in the wake of interactions that once again witnessed assertions without any facts.” “This leaves no doubt that under the pretext of the investigation, there is a deliberate strategy to discredit India for political gain.”
“India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these recent efforts by the Canadian government to fabricate allegations against Indian diplomats.”
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It also alleged that the Trudeau government “deliberately provided space for violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada.”
Canada withdrew more than 40 diplomats from India in October 2023 after New Delhi asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence.
In June, a committee of Canadian parliamentarians named India and China as the main external threats to its democratic institutions, based on input from intelligence agencies.
India’s envoy in Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, described the report as politically motivated and influenced by Sikh separatist activists.
Earlier this year, Trudeau said he hoped India would “cooperate with us so that we can get to the bottom of this very serious matter.”
Shortly after Canada’s allegation, the United States alleged that Indian agents were involved in an attempted assassination of another Sikh separatist leader in New York in 2023, and said it had charged an Indian national who was acting at the behest of an unnamed Indian government official.
But in contrast to its angry response to the Canadian accusations, India expressed concern after the United States raised the issue, distanced itself from the plot, and opened an investigation.
Assassination plots against Sikh separatist leaders in Canada and the United States have tested their relations with India, as Western countries hope to forge deeper ties with New Delhi to counter China’s growing global influence.
(Reporting by Krishn Kaushik and Sakshi Dayal; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly, Christian Schmollinger and Ed Osmond)
