A day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talked of a ‘One India’ policy, India on Thursday said “no action” against anti-India elements there shows the “gap” between actions and words. Is.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also told reporters that for the past several years, New Delhi has been reminding Ottawa to take action against anti-India activities in that country.
He was responding to a question on comments made by Trudeau while he was testifying before a public inquiry into foreign interference in federal electoral processes and democratic institutions.
“We have seen Prime Minister Trudeau’s comments that he believes in the ‘One India’ policy, but till now we have seen the call for action against anti-India elements who actually go against ‘One India’, Those who call for disintegration and disunity of the country, who support separatist ideology…no action has been taken,” Mr Jaiswal said.
He said, “In a way there is a difference here, there is a difference between actions and words.”
As the Canadian prime minister testified before the commission of inquiry, the Foreign Ministry on Thursday said what it heard “reaffirms” New Delhi’s consistent position that Canada has supported the serious allegations made by Ottawa. No evidence has been provided”. India and Indian diplomats.
Trudeau acknowledged on Wednesday that he had only intelligence information and no “hard evidence” when he alleged the involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year.
In response to media questions regarding Trudeau’s statement, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement early Thursday, some details of which emerged in media reports.
A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “What we have heard today only confirms what we have been saying all along – Canada has provided us with no evidence to support the serious allegations made against India and Indian diplomats Is.” statement.
The ministry further said, “The responsibility for the damage this indecent behavior has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone.” During the press conference on Thursday evening, Mr. Jaiswal was also asked about the future direction of India-Canada relations.
“It’s an evolving situation, so we’ll see,” he said.
The escalation of the diplomatic dispute between India and Canada is a major deterioration in the already sour relations between the two countries.
Relations between the two countries came under severe strain following Trudeau’s allegations of “possible” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar in September last year. New Delhi rejected Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd”.
India has been saying that the main issue between the two countries is Canada’s exemption of pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil.
Nijjar, declared a terrorist by India, was shot dead outside a gurudwara in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18 last year.
On a question on the security of Indians or citizens of Indian origin in Canada, Mr Jaiswal said around 17-18 lakh Indian-origin and Indian citizens also live in Canada, and “their security is important”.
It’s in the hands of the Canadian government and “we hope they keep them safe,” he said.
When asked about the visa situation, he said, ‘The visa situation is not very good.’
Asked about reports of alleged intimidation of some Indian-origin journalists in Canada, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said, “These are clear examples of intimidation and violence by those who openly support extremist and separatist ideologies.” Are.” “These are also examples of where Canada is today and reveal the sources of violence. Pinning the blame on India will not work in any way,” he said.
On a question about former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he said, ‘As we said earlier, she came here at short notice due to security reasons and she is still here.’ To a question related to a report on the possible resumption of cricket ties between India and Pakistan, and whether it was discussed on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Islamabad, Mr Jaiswal said, “It was not discussed.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)