India expels senior Canadian diplomat in tit-for-tat row over Sikh activist's killing
India dismissed allegations that its government was linked to the killing of a Sikh activist in Canada as "absurd" Tuesday, and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat.
It came a day after Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations its government may have had links to the assassination of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down on June 18 outside a Sikh cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia.
Nijjar was organizing an unofficial referendum in India for an independent Sikh nation at the time of this death. Indian authorities announced a cash reward last year for information leading to Nijjar's arrest, accusing him of involvement in an alleged attack on a Hindu priest in India.
In a statement, India's Ministry of External Affairs wrote that "the decision reflects Government of India's growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities."
The dueling expulsions come as relations between Canada and India are tense. Trade talks have been derailed and Canada just canceled a trade mission to India that was planned for the fall. Protests by pro-Sikh independence groups in Canada have angered the Modi government.
India dismissed allegations that its government was linked to the killing of a Sikh activist in Canada as "absurd" Tuesday, and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat.
It came a day after Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations its government may have had links to the assassination of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down on June 18 outside a Sikh cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia.
Nijjar was organizing an unofficial referendum in India for an independent Sikh nation at the time of this death. Indian authorities announced a cash reward last year for information leading to Nijjar's arrest, accusing him of involvement in an alleged attack on a Hindu priest in India.
In a statement, India's Ministry of External Affairs wrote that "the decision reflects Government of India's growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities."
The dueling expulsions come as relations between Canada and India are tense. Trade talks have been derailed and Canada just canceled a trade mission to India that was planned for the fall. Protests by pro-Sikh independence groups in Canada have angered the Modi government.
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00:00 India expels senior Canadian diplomat in tit-for-tat row over Sikh activists killing
00:05 India dismissed allegations that its government was linked to the killing of a Sikh activist
00:12 in Canada as "absurd Tuesday" and expelled the senior Canadian diplomat.
00:16 It came a day after Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat as it investigates what Prime Minister
00:24 Justin Trudeau called "credible allegations" its government may have had links to the assassination
00:29 of Sikh leader Hardit Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down on June 18 outside a Sikh cultural
00:35 centre in Surrey, British Columbia. Nijjar was organising an unofficial referendum in India for
00:43 an independent Sikh nation at the time of this death. Indian authorities announced a cash reward
00:49 last year for information leading to Nijjar's arrest, accusing him of involvement in an
00:55 alleged attack on a Hindu priest in India. In a statement, India's Ministry of External
01:01 Affairs wrote that the decision reflects government of India's growing concern at the
01:06 interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in
01:11 anti-India activities. The dualling expulsions come as relations between Canada and India are
01:18 tense. Trade talks have been derailed and Canada just cancelled a trade mission to India that was
01:25 planned for the fall. Protests by pro-Sikh independence groups in Canada have angered
01:31 the Modi government. The Sikh Independence, or Khalistan, movement is banned in India,
01:37 where officials see it and affiliated groups as a national security threat.
01:41 But it movement still has some support in northern India, as well as countries like Canada and the
01:48 United Kingdom which are home to a sizeable Sikh diaspora. Trudeau told Parliament that he brought
01:55 up the slaying with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 last week. He said he told Modi
02:02 that any Indian government involvement would be unacceptable and that he asked for cooperation
02:08 in the investigation. "Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian
02:14 citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty," he said.
02:19 In the strongest possible terms, I continue to urge the Government of India to cooperate with
02:26 Canada to get to the bottom of this matter. On Tuesday, India's foreign ministry released a
02:32 statement dismissing the allegation as "absurd and motivated." The ministries added that Trudeau had
02:39 made similar allegations to Modi. Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift
02:45 the focus from "Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter
02:51 in Canada and continue to threaten India's sovereignty and territorial integrity,"
02:56 the statement noted, referring to the proposed name of a Sikh homeland.
03:00 Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie said a top diplomat, who she said was the head of Indian
03:07 intelligence in Canada, has been expelled as a consequence. "If proven true this would be a great
03:14 violation of our sovereignty and of the most basic rule of how countries deal with each other,"
03:19 Jolie said. "As a consequence, we have expelled a top Indian diplomat.
03:24 The expulsion comes as relations between Canada and India are tense. Trade talks have been derailed
03:33 and Canada just cancelled a trade mission to India that was planned for the fall."
03:37 At the G20 meeting, Modi expressed strong concerns over Canada's handling of the Punjabi
03:44 independence movement among the overseas Sikhs during a meeting with Trudeau at the G20,
03:50 according to India's response, released by India's Ministry of External Affairs.
03:55 The statement described the Sikh movement as "promoting secessionism and inciting violence
04:02 against Indian diplomats." It called on Canada to work with India on what New Delhi said
04:08 is a threat to the Canadian Indian diaspora. Protests by pro-Khalistan groups in Canada
04:15 have angered the Modi government, prompting it to summon the Canadian High Commissioner
04:19 in New Delhi in March. Canada has a Sikh population of more than 770,000,
04:26 or about 2 per cent of its total population. Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said
04:33 Canada's national security adviser and the head of Canada's spy service have travelled to India
04:39 to meet their counterparts and to confront the Indian intelligence agencies with the allegations.
04:44 He called it an "act of homicide investigation" led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
04:52 Jolie said Trudeau "also raised the matter with US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister
04:58 Rishi Sunak."