Outgoing Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma on Sunday accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of “destroying” the relationship between the two countries, CTV News reported.
This came amid recently heightened diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Ottawa.
In an interview to the Canadian television network, Verma also denied being involved in the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the North American country. He said that Ottawa’s allegations of Indian government agents orchestrating the killing were “politically motivated”.
On October 14, the Indian government said it was withdrawing Verma and some other diplomats from Canada. It also announced that it had expelled six Canadian diplomats. Ottawa also said it had expelled six Indian diplomats, but Delhi maintained that they had been withdrawn before the Canadian government’s decision.
This came after New Delhi rejected a diplomatic communication from Canada naming Verma and other Indian envoys as “persons of interest” in an investigation in the country. While it was unclear which investigation Ottawa was referring to, reports said that it was related to the June 2023 murder of Nijjar.
On Sunday, Verma noted that Trudeau’s claims about Nijjar’s killing were based on intelligence inputs and not on “hard evidentiary proof”.
On October 16, the Canadian prime minister said that he had intelligence but no “hard evidentiary proof” when he first went public with allegations that Indian government agents may have been involved in Nijjar.
“The problem is that when he [Trudeau] accused, he himself admitted there was no hard evidence,” he said. “There was intelligence. On the basis of intelligence, if you want to destroy a relationship, be my guest. And that’s what he did.”
In September 2023, Trudeau told his country’s parliament that intelligence agencies were actively pursuing “credible allegations” tying agents of the Indian government to Nijjar’s killing.
New Delhi had rejected Canada’s allegations as “absurd and motivated” and said they were an attempt by Ottawa to divert attention from the fact that it was providing shelter to those threatening India’s sovereignty.
Nijjar was a supporter of Khalistan, an independent nation for Sikhs that some members of the community seek to carve out of India. He was the head of the Khalistan Tiger Force, which is designated as a terrorist outfit in India.
“No evidence was presented [by Canada],” Verma said on Sunday about Nijjar’s killing, adding that evidence should have been shared first with India.
“But someone [Trudeau] decided to stand in the Parliament and talk about a thing for which he himself has said there was ‘no hard’ evidence,” the outgoing Indian High Commissioner said. “And the day on which he did that, since then, he has made it sure that the bilateral relation with India only goes downwards, spiralling down.”
On a question about his involvement in Nijjar’s killing, he said: “I, as High Commissioner of India, had never done anything.”
Verma added: “Do we want to know what pro-Khalistani elements in Canada are doing? Yes, we do. That’s my national interest. That’s my core concern with Canada, which is trying to tear up Indian territory.”
Commenting on the possible replacement of the expelled and withdrawn diplomats from countries, the outgoing Indian High Commissioner said it was “a matter of conversation” between the two governments.
“As far as the relationship itself is concerned, it is a large relationship,” Verma said. “Canada had been a friend of India. Canada will remain a friend of India. There have been issues between two countries that many countries have. That’s not a surprise.”
He added: “We only want the Canadian regime of the day, the government of the day, to understand my core concerns and try to act on that sincerely, rather than for those who are trying to challenge Indian sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
On Friday, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said that Indian diplomats who remained in the country were “clearly on notice”.
Canada would not tolerate diplomats contravening the Vienna Convention or putting the lives of Canadian citizens at risk, Joly said.
The Vienna Convention is an international treaty establishing a framework for diplomatic relations between countries.
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