New Delhi Maintains Defiant Stance Toward Ottawa While Complying with the US Over Assassination Allegations
India has held Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accountable for the significant diplomatic fallout following the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in June 2023.
While New Delhi remains defiant toward Ottawa, it has shown a more compliant attitude this week regarding allegations of a separate assassination plot involving the US.
Canada has accused India of orchestrating Nijjar’s murder outside a Sikh temple in Vancouver, a claim India has labeled as “preposterous.” Trudeau stated during a parliamentary inquiry that Canada has “clear indications that India violated Canada’s sovereignty.”
Canada’s top envoy to New Delhi, Stewart Wheeler, who has been ordered to leave India by Saturday night, claimed that Ottawa possesses “credible, irrefutable evidence” linking Indian government agents to the murder of a Canadian citizen.
In response, India’s foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal stated that they had not received any evidence to support Canada’s serious allegations. “Canada has presented us with no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats,” he said.
He further emphasized, “The responsibility for the damage caused to India-Canada relations lies solely with Prime Minister Trudeau.”
