New Delhi/IBNS: Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh Friday alleged that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is responsible for India-Canada's rocky relationship and accused him of was promoting Khalistani propaganda.
Speaking to ANI, Captain Amarinder Singh, who has now joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said: "Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau is responsible for India-Canada's rocky relationship" and alleged that he was "promoting Khalistani propaganda."
Alleging that Trudeau is supporting Khalistanis, Singh said that the Canadian PM is only interested in attracting Sikh votes in Canada given the fact that elections are approaching.
"This is something that is not acceptable. When I was in government, the Canadian defense minister was on an India visit, I refused to meet him," said Captain Singh on the India-Canada diplomatic row.
The ties between India and Canada reached low after Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he has "credible allegations" of Indian government agents' involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India and Canada engage in retaliatory diplomatic expulsions
India earlier this month expelled six Canadian diplomats and asked them to leave the country by Saturday after Ottawa said it was investigating the Indian ambassador and other diplomats as "persons of interest" in connection with the killing of a Sikh separatist leader last year, official sources said.
In a tit-for-tat move, Canada too asked six Indian diplomats to leave the country alleging that its police reportedly got hold of evidence that they claimed to be a part of an Indian government "campaign of violence".
The Indian government had also decided to withdraw its High Commissioner in Canada after Ottawa's fresh accusations against the Indian envoy and other diplomats in connection with a murder investigation which the Modi government called an act of "vote bank politics".
"We have no faith in the current Canadian Government's commitment to ensure their security," the government had conveyed to the Canadian Charge d'Affaires, who it summoned this evening.
"It was underlined that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau Government's actions endangered their safety. We have no faith in the current Canadian Government's commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the Government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials," the foreign ministry said.
India responded sharply after Canada called the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats "persons of interest" in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
In a long statement, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said, "We have received a diplomatic communication 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 preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centered around vote bank politics.
"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 our side. This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains."
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