NEW DELHI: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused India of involvement in the murder of an Indian-origin Sikh community leader amid signs of a strained relationship between the two countries.
Trudeau, who travelled to New Delhi earlier this month to attend the G20 Summit, told the Canadian parliament on Monday that he raised the issue of Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing directly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting.
Nijjar, 45, who was head of a gurdwara, was gunned down on June 18 in Surrey city in the province of British Columbia.
“Over the past number of weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” Trudeau told the House of Commons.
“Canada has declared its deep concerns to the top intelligence and security officials of the Indian government. Last week, at the G20, I brought them personally and directly to Prime Minister Modi in no uncertain terms,” he said.
Nijjar, an advocate of the separatist Khalistan movement, was declared a “terrorist” in India.
There was widespread condemnation of the killing and demonstrations were held in key Canadian cities.
Canada is home to a large Sikh diaspora.
The Canadian prime minister assured lawmakers that the protection of Canadian citizens was his top priority and all steps will be taken to hold perpetrators of the murder to account.
“Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Trudeau said.
“In the strongest possible terms, I continue to urge the government of India to cooperate with Canada to get to the bottom of this matter,” he said.
Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat on Monday over the issue, said Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly.
“We’ve been clear; we will not tolerate any form of foreign interference,” Joly told reporters.
The diplomat is Pavan Kumar Rai, the head of India’s foreign intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Canada, Canadian media reported, citing Joly’s office.
Monday’s developments are likely to put further strain on India-Canada ties.
An Indian statement issued after the Modi-Trudeau meeting on September 10 highlighted Modi’s criticism against Canada.
“He conveyed our strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada,” it said.
Canada on Friday announced that it was calling off a trade mission to India that was to arrive in Mumbai in October.
Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday told the local media that the ongoing trade negotiations with Canada have been halted due to disagreements.
“We have given the trade dialogue with Canada a pause. We need to make sure that geopolitically and economically we are on the same page,” he said.
Goyal also mentioned that certain issues of “serious concern” were raised during the recent meeting between Modi and Trudeau. – BERNAMA
