Recalled Indian envoy Sanjay Verma slams ‘person of interest’ allegations in Canada – ThePrint – ANIFeed

New Delhi (India), October 24 (ANI): Sanjay Kumar Verma, the Indian High Commissioner to Canada, on Thursday criticized the Canadian authorities, saying it is inappropriate and not a diplomatic practice to label a diplomat as a “person of interest”.

India had earlier this month “strongly” rejected a diplomatic communication from Canada suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats were “persons of interest in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen whom India has labeled a terrorist and this is “ridiculous accusations” and part of the political agenda of Justin Trudeau’s government.

“A person of interest is someone who questions you on a particular subject, so it is disturbing that a foreign representative is asked to answer questions from their police authorities. This is inappropriate. This isn’t even a diplomatic practice. After that, our government said we will not increase your diplomatic immunity… India withdrew and ordered me and the five other allies to come back,” Verma said.

“When this message was delivered, their acting High Commissioner at that time sent a report… He must have sent a report, and what happened inside I don’t even know. But then they declared us undesirables, which in diplomatic terms is called persona non grata. So we have become persona non grata, these six people. This means that if you do not leave that country within the specified period, in this case Canada, it will be assumed that you are no longer a diplomat and action can be taken against you according to the law of the country,” he added . .

To a question about possible action against him, Verma said there could be a conspiracy.

“It could have been. It could be a conspiracy. But as long as my diplomatic immunity is there, I don’t expect any democratic country to take any illegal step,” he said.

In its hard-hitting statement, India said Prime Minister Trudeau’s hostility towards India has long been evident and that his government has deliberately provided space for violent extremists and terrorists “to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada.” .

“We received a diplomatic message 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 ridiculous allegations and attributes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau government, which focuses on vote bank politics,” the statement said.

“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 us. This final step follows interactions that once again witnessed claims without any facts. “This leaves little doubt that there is a deliberate strategy under the pretext of an investigation to smear India for political gain,” it added.

The statement said that High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma is India’s top diplomat with a distinguished career spanning 36 years. He was ambassador to Japan and Sudan, but also served in Italy, Turkiye, Vietnam and China.

The vilification leveled against him by the Canadian government is ridiculous and deserves to be treated with contempt, the statement said.

“Prime Minister Trudeau’s hostility towards India has long been visible. In 2018, his visit to India, aimed at currying favor with a vote bank, backfired on his discomfort. His cabinet includes individuals who have openly joined an extremist and separatist agenda towards India. His naked interference in India’s internal politics in December 2020 showed how far he was willing to go in this regard,” the MEA statement said.

“His government’s dependence on a political party whose leader openly espouses a separatist ideology towards India has only made matters worse. Under criticism for turning a blind eye to foreign interference in Canadian politics, his government has deliberately brought in India in an attempt to limit the damage,” it added.

MEA said the latest development targeting Indian diplomats is now the next step in that direction.

“It is no coincidence that this is taking place at a time when Prime Minister Trudeau is due to be impeached before a foreign interference committee. It also serves the anti-Indian separatist agenda that the Trudeau government has continually tapped into for limited political gain,” the statement said.

“To this end, the Trudeau government has knowingly provided space for violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada. This included death threats against them and the Indian leaders. All these activities are justified in the name of freedom of expression. Some individuals who entered Canada illegally have been granted accelerated citizenship eligibility,” the statement said.

It said multiple extradition requests from the Indian government regarding terrorists and organized crime leaders living in Canada have been ignored,” it added. “The Government of India has taken note of the activities of the Canadian High Commission in India in service of the political agenda of the current regime. This led to the implementation of the principle of reciprocity regarding diplomatic representation. “India now reserves the right to take further action in response to these latest attempts by the Canadian government to fabricate allegations against Indian diplomats,” it added.

Ties between India and Canada have deteriorated after Trudeau claimed in the Canadian parliament last year that he had “credible allegations” about India’s hand in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has denied all the allegations, calling them ‘absurd’. motivated” and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country. Nijjar, who was labeled a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot dead outside a Gurdwara in Surrey in June last year.

Trudeau had also said earlier this month that his government had not provided India with hard evidence, but only intelligence about the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.

Testifying at the Canadian inquiry into foreign interference, Trudeau said India has pressed for evidence on Canada’s allegations.

“Behind the scenes, India (tried) to work with us. Their question was…give us the evidence you have on us. Our response was that this is within your security agency. You should investigate how much they know, you should engage… ‘No, no, but show us the evidence’. At that point it was mostly intelligence, not hard evidence. So we said, let’s work together…,” he said. (ANI)

This report is automatically generated by the ANI news service. ThePrint is not responsible for its content.