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PremiumIndia-Canada News LIVE Updates: Tensions between India and Canada escalated on Monday after the Ministry of External Affairs strongly rejected the "diplomatic communication" it received from Canada last week. The communication was linked to the probe into the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.
India has withdrawn its high commissioner in Canada, and the Canadian police have disclosed details about the alleged link between the "agents" of the Indian government and the killing of Khalistani leader Nijjar.
The Canadian Police (RCMP) on October 14 also released a statement on "violent criminal activity occurring in Canada with connections to agents of the Government of India" and addressed four major issues -- "Violent extremism impacting both countries (India and Canada); links tying agents of the Government of India (GOI) to homicides and violent acts; the use of organized crime to create a perception of an unsafe environment targeting the South Asian Community in Canada; and interference into democratic processes."
According to the MEA, Canada's "diplomatic communication" suggested "that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are ‘persons of interest’ in a matter related to an investigation in that country." It added, "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."
Following this, the MEA summoned Canadian Charge d’Affaires Stewart Wheeler in the evening and informed him "that the baseless targeting of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable". India said that the government has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials.
Stay tuned to this India Canada News Live Updates for all the latest news related to the row over Nijjar's killing.
India-Canada Row LIVE: North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) chairman Satnam Singh Chahal said the association is deeply concerned about the potential ramifications of the strained diplomatic relations on the Sikh diaspora, which has long been a bridge between the two cultures.
The association urged both governments to ensure the protection of all communities, particularly minorities, and prioritise “dialogue over conflict."
India-Canada Row LIVE: 'Flight AI127 operating from Delhi to Chicago on October 15, 2024, was the subject of a security threat posted online and, as a precautionary measure, has landed at Iqaluit Airport in Canada. The aircraft and passengers are being re-screened as per the laid down security protocol. Air India has activated agencies at the airport to assist the passengers until such time that their journey can resume, the Air India said in a statement
India-Canada Row LIVE: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed on the ‘importance of the rule of law’ during a phone call with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau in the wake of the ongoing diplomatic row with India, PTI reported citing Downing Street
India-Canada Row LIVE: Think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has stated that the diplomatic tensions between India and Canada have so far not impacted the bilateral trade in goods between the two countries.
India-Canada Row LIVE: Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly has not rule out imposing sanctions against India saying 'everything is on the table", reported PTI
India and Canada have both expelled six diplomats each and India has also withdrawn its high commissioner in Canada amid a row over the alleged “assasination" of Khalistani leader and Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Canadian police disclosed details about the alleged link between "agents" of the Indian government and Nijjar's killing, and India has "strongly" rejected Canada's latest "diplomatic communication" against the Indian envoy and other diplomats "in a matter related to an investigation in that country".
Further, the MEA has criticised the Justin Trudeau government in Canada of indulging in "vote bank politics".
The Indian National Congress certainly hopes and expects that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take the Leader of Opposition in both Houses of Parliament, and the leaders of other political parties into confidence immediately on the extremely sensitive and delicate issue of worsening India-Canada relations.
Congress party has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to take all political parties into confidence regarding worsening ties with Canada a day after the two countries said they expelled each other's diplomats.
On India-Canada diplomatic row, Congress leader Rashid Alvi says," It is a matter of great concern. When such a thing happens it shows that our relations with that country are not good...Earlier, such things never used to happen. It has started under the BJP government."
India-Canada Row LIVE: Brigitte Gauvin, RCMP's assistant commissioner, said "what we have seen is...the use of organised crime elements" and named "the Bishnoi group".
She said the group "we believe...is connected to the agents of the Government of India".
In a post on X, Joly stated, "Keeping Canadians safe is our government's top priority. The decision to expel individuals was based on clear evidence gathered by the RCMP in the Nijjar case. We urge the Indian government to support our ongoing investigation for the benefit of both countries."
After New Delhi expelled six Canadian Diplomats from India, Foreign policy expert and Senior fellow at the Observor Research foundation, Sushant Sareen called for an investigation into Canada's interference in India's internal affairs. He emphasised the need to probe Canadian NGOs and embassies that support Khalistani elements.
"The calling back of our officials, about whom Canadians have said that investigations can be done against them, if you say this about any official that they will be investigated, then it becomes completely dishonest for them to stay in the country. The official can't function there," Sareen said.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a local leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland known as Khalistan. The Khalistan movement is banned in India, but has support among the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada.
India designated Nijjar a terrorist in 2020, and at the time of his death was seeking his arrest for alleged involvement in an attack on a Hindu priest in India.
India’s anxieties about Sikh separatist groups in Canada have long been a strain on the relationship, but the two countries have maintained strong defense and trade ties, and share strategic concerns over China’s global ambitions. However, India has increasingly accused Canada of giving free rein to Sikh separatists.
Nijjar was fatally shot in his pickup truck in June 2023 after he left the Sikh temple he led in the city of Surrey, British Columbia. An Indian-born citizen of Canada, he owned a plumbing business and was a leader in a movement to create an independent Sikh homeland, which is banned in India.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in September 2023 there were credible allegations that India’s government had links to the killing. India denied the allegations at the time but said Nijjar was involved in “terrorism."
Sanjay Kumar Verma, an Indian Foreign Service officer from the 1988 batch, has had a distinguished diplomatic career spanning over three decades. Born on 28 July 1965, he graduated from Patna University and pursued a Post-Graduate degree in Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi
Verma began his diplomatic journey at the High Commission of India in Hong Kong and subsequently served at Indian Embassies in China, Vietnam, and Türkiye.
He was Consul General of India in Milan, Italy, and later served as the Indian Ambassador to Sudan. After his tenure in Sudan, he worked as Joint Secretary and then Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. He also served as the Ambassador of India to Japan and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. In September 2022, he was appointed as the High Commissioner of India to Canada.
"Whenever any statement comes from anywhere in the world, and it seems that is against our country so it cannot be tolerated at any cost. Keeping this in mind, the decision taken by the government is absolutely right," says former RLD MP Malook Nagar as India on Monday expelled six Canadian diplomats and announced withdrawing its high commissioner and other "targeted" officials from Canada.
"During the last one year, the Canadian PM, Justin Trudeau has made two allegations against India, directly towards PM Modi. First was regarding the Hardeep Singh Nijjar case, which was in last September, and this time it is much more serious one, he has also indicated that some Indian diplomats are also involved in creating disruptions in Canada. I think this is quite preposterous. Firstly, the Indian diplomats are well-known highly professional and they are only indulging in diplomatic and political activities for enhancing the relation between the countries, never for creating disruptions. This allegation is preposterous, and very rightly the MEA has rejected it... There is no doubt that Canada is facing internal challenges. Trudeau's party has prominent supporters in Sikh community, he has been trying to gain the support, this move is act of desperation attempting to spoil relation with India. It is political one," says Brigadier (Retd) Rahul Bhonsle as India-Canada row escalates.
India-Canada Row LIVE Updates: In a statement released on October 14, Trudeau said, "Canada is a country rooted in the rule of law, and the protection of our citizens is paramount. That is why, when our law enforcement and intelligence services began pursuing credible allegations that agents of the Government of India were directly involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, on Canadian soil - we responded."
"We shared our concerns with the Government of India and asked them to work with us to shed light on this important issue. At the same time, police and security agencies have used all the tools at their disposal to keep Canadians safe. Today, given evidence presented by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), we are taking additional steps to protect Canadians," he further said.
India-Canada Row LIVE Updates: In a post on X, Joly stated, "Keeping Canadians safe is our government's top priority. The decision to expel individuals was based on clear evidence gathered by the RCMP in the Nijjar case. We urge the Indian government to support our ongoing investigation for the benefit of both countries."
Amidst tensions between India and Canada over the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh, a former alliance partner of Prime Minister Trudeau, on Monday claimed that Canadian Sikhs were satlked by fear and urged the Canadian government to take action against India, specifically calling for diplomat sanctions.
In a statement, he said, "We support today's decision to expel India's diplomats and we're calling on the Government of Canada yet again to put diplomat sanctions against India in place, ban the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Network (RSS) in Canada, and commit to pursuing the most severe consequences for anyone found to have participated in organized criminal activity on Canadian soil."
India-Canada Row LIVE Updates: Brigadier (Retd) Rahul Bhonsle says the India Canada row is a political battle. “ There is no doubt that Canada is facing internal challenges. Trudeau's party has prominent supporters in Sikh community, he has been trying to gain the support, this move is act of desperation attempting to spoil relation with India," said Bhonsle, reported PTI
India-Canada Row LIVE Updates: “I think this action, what Canada took is totally a Vote Bank action. We have elections coming up next year. So to secure the Vote Bank in Canada, the Prime Minister had to do something to please a particular community..." said journalist and businessman Anil Shringi
India Canada News LIVE: Former Indian diplomat KP Fabian pointed out the complexity of the India-Canada row. Speaking with ANI, Fabian explained that Canada's designation of Indian diplomats as "persons of interest" was a primary reason for India's diplomatic response.
India Canada News LIVE: As tensions between India and Canada continue to escalate, Michael Kugelman, a US-based foreign policy expert and the Director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center said, "One could not have imagined that things in this relationship could get worse, but they have."
"This is a relationship that's now hit rock bottom and indeed, looking at recent developments, certainly is reminiscent of India's relations with Pakistan in terms of these extremely serious allegations being made, in terms of senior diplomats being expelled, as well as the use of blistering language in government statements, it's all there and of course, the core allegation that we're hearing from India that Canada is sheltering and sponsoring anti-India terrorists. This is what we're used to hearing India say about Pakistan," he pointed out.
India Canada News LIVE: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said, "The Indian government made a fundamental error in thinking that they could engage in supporting criminal activities against Canadians here on Canadian soil, be it murder or extortion. This is absolutely unacceptable...The RCMP chose to come out today and disrupt the pattern of Indian diplomats collecting through questionable and illegal means information on Canadian citizens that were then fed to criminal organisations. That would then take violent actions against Canadians. No country particularly not a democracy upholds the rule of law can accept this fundamental violation of its sovereignty. Canada fully accepts and respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, we expect India to do the same and in this case, they did not"
India Canada News LIVE: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said, "This is not a choice that Canada made to create a chill in Canada-India relations. India is an important democracy is a country with which we have deep historical people-to-people business ties at a time where the instability around geopolitics means democracies have to stick together. That is why when we started to understand through intelligence agencies that India was possibly if not probably, behind (Hardeep Singh) Nijjar's killing, the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil last summer, our first choice to the government of India to say, we know this has happened, work with us to fix this. We don't want to be having this fight, but obviously the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil is not something that we can ignore as a country. So every step of the way we have apprised India of what we know. I've spoken directly with Prime Minister Modi. We have engaged with intelligence counterparts, and unfortunately, every step of the way, both after I made the statement in the House of Commons last September and till now, the response of the Indian government has been to deny, to obfuscate, to attack me personally and the integrity of the government of Canada and its officials and its police agencies. We have simply said we're going to allow our agencies to do the work, particularly to move from intelligence collection from agencies to police investigations that result in arrests, trials and consequences within a rigorous robust and independent judicial system. That has been our approach every step of the way. Indeed, over this past week, when the RCMP reached out to its law enforcement counterparts in India, there was a path where we could have worked together to ensure accountability and changes and steps that would have resulted in keeping Canadians safe because that is our top priority. The indian government rejected those advances and rejected our attempts to find some way through this. And that brought us to this point of having to disrupt the chain of operations that go from Indian diplomats here in Canada to criminal organizations to direct violent impacts on Canadians right across this country."
India Canada News LIVE: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) alleged that Indian government ‘agents’ were collaborating with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to spread terror on Canadian soil. The allegation came hours after India withdrew its diplomats from Canada amid a crisis in the relations between the two countries.
“What we have seen is the use of organised crime elements, and it’s been publicly attributed to one organised crime gang in particular the Bishnoi group is connected to the agents of India," RCMP Assistant Commissioner Brigitte Gaubin said in a press conference in Ottawa on Monday
India Canada News LIVE: The Government of India expel the following six Canadian Diplomats:
Mr. Stewart Ross Wheeler, Acting High Commissioner;
Mr. Patrick Hebert, Deputy High Commissioner;
Marie Catherine Joly, First Secretary;
lan Ross David Trites, First Secretary;
Adam James Chuipka, First Secretary;
Paula Orjuela, First Secretary
In a post on X, Jairam Ramesh said, "The Indian National Congress certainly hopes and expects that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take into confidence the Leaders of the Opposition in both Houses of Parliament and the leaders of other political parties on this extremely sensitive and critical issue of India-Canada relations."
Bordman noted the Indian government's decision to recall its High Commissioner and other diplomats as a clear indication of the deepening rift between the two countries.
"There are elements within the Khalistani apparatus, they are all over this... The Khalistani elements are in full attack mode. They are taking this as a total victory and slamming India," he told ANI.
Citing evidence from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Trudeau claimed that India government officials were involved in activities that pose threat to public safety.
"As the RCMP commissioner stated earlier they have clear and compelling evidence that agents of the Government of India have engaged in and continue to engage in activities that pose a significant threat to public safety. This includes clandestine information-gathering techniques, coercive behavior targeting South Asian Canadians, and involvement in a dozen threatening and violating acts, including murder. This is unacceptable," Trudeau alleged while addressing a press conference.
India Canada News LIVE: Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, after police uncovered evidence of ongoing violent criminal activity linked to the Indian government, AFP reported quoting a senior Canadian government official as saying
India Canada News LIVE: The 6 Canadian diplomats who have been expelled are Stewart Ross Wheeler (Acting High Commissioner), Patrick Hebert (Deputy High Commissioner), Marie Catherine Joly (First Secretary) and lan Ross David Trites (First Secretary), Adam James Chuipka (First Secretary), and Paula Orjuela (First Secretary)
They have been asked to leave India by or before 11:59 pm on October 19, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
India Canada News LIVE: India asks 6 Canadian diplomats to leave country by or before 11:59 pm, says MEA
India Canada News LIVE Updates: The Canada police said that investigations have revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official positions to engage in clandestine activities, such as collecting information for the Government of India, either directly or through their proxies; and other individuals who acted voluntarily or through coercion.
Evidence also shows that a wide variety of entities in Canada and abroad have been used by agents of the Government of India to collect information. Some of these individuals and businesses were coerced and threatened into working for the Government of India. The information collected for the Government of India is then used to target members of the South Asian community.
India Canada News LIVE Updates: Over the past few years, and more recently, law enforcement agencies in Canada, including the RCMP, have successfully investigated and charged a significant number of individuals for their direct involvement in homicides, extortions and other criminal acts of violence, the Canada police said
India Canada News LIVE Updates: The Indian government on Monday decided to withdraw its high commissioner and other “targeted diplomats and officials" from Canada. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said, "...baseless targeting of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable." Read full report here
