Trudeau: India’s interference in Canada a ‘horrific mistake’
OTTAWA — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday India made “a horrific mistake” by thinking it could interfere as aggressively as it allegedly did in Canada’s sovereignty.
Trudeau made the remark two days after Canada kicked out six Indian diplomats, linking them to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada and alleging a broader effort to target Indian dissidents in the country.
The Canadian leader’s comments were the strongest he has made in a year-long dispute that plunged bilateral relations to a new low.
“The Indian government made a horrific mistake in thinking that they could interfere as aggressively as they did in the safety and sovereignty of Canada,” he told an independent probe into foreign interference in Canadian politics.
In response, India’s foreign ministry issued a terse two-line statement, saying Trudeau’s deposition confirmed New Delhi’s stand that Canada had provided no evidence to support its allegations against Indian diplomats.
“The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behavior has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone,” the foreign ministry statement said.
Tit for tat
Trudeau said Ottawa could take further steps to ensure Canadians’ security but declined to give details.
India denies the allegations of interference and has expelled six Canadian diplomats in a tit-for-tat move.
Trudeau said that Canada’s national police force went public with its allegations against Indian diplomats this week because it had to disrupt violent acts in Canada including drive-by-shootings, extortions and even murder.
The Royal Canadian Police said Monday it had identified India’s top diplomat in the country and five other diplomats as persons of interest in the June 2023 killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The RCMP also said they uncovered evidence of an intensifying campaign against Canadians by agents of the Indian government.
Trudeau said he has tried not to “blow up” relations with India and that Canadian officials provided evidence privately with their Indian counterparts who, he said, have been uncooperative.
“The decision by the RCMP to go forward with that announcement was entirely anchored in public safety and a goal of disrupting the chain of activities that was resulting in drive by shootings, home invasions, violent extortion and even murder in and across Canada,” Trudeau said while testifying Wednesday before the Foreign Interference Commission in Ottawa.
Trudeau said Indian diplomats have been passing information about Canadians to the highest levels of the Indian government which was then shared with organized crime, resulting in violence against Canadians. With reports from Reuters, AFP
