‘Cavalier Behaviour’: India’s Sharp Retort To Justin Trudeau After His ‘No Hard Proof’ Admission

Affirming India’s stand on the diplomatic row with Canada and its Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s deposition at the Commission of Inquiry, the External Affairs Ministry reiterated that “Canada has presented us with no evidence whatsoever”.

In a late-night response, the ministry put the onus of the diplomatic fallout with Canada on Trudeau. It posted, “What we have heard today only confirms what we have been saying consistently all along – Canada has presented us no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations that it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats. The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone.”

The Canadian Prime Minister on Wednesday acknowledged that he had not provided India with concrete proof regarding the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil while testifying before the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions in Ottawa.

WHAT TRUDEAU SAID

“And at that point it was primarily intelligence, not hard evidentiary proof,” Trudeau said, referring to the allegations he levelled against India, linking ‘Indian agents’ to the murder of Nijjar outside a gurdwara in Canada’s Surrey.

Trudeau claimed that he has ‘credible evidence’ that India played a role in the murder of Nijjar. He also said he had asked the Indian intelligence community to look into it later and said it was initially thought to be a ‘gang-related’ issue.

“Some South Asian MPs were insistent that it was likely connected to India,” Trudeau said. He did not name who those MPs were.

Trudeau also alleged that the Lawrence Bishnoi crime syndicate was also involved.

“Canadians who are opponents of Modi govt, their information was passed to the Indian govt at the highest level and then information directed through criminal organisations like the Lawrence Bishnoi gang (which) resulted in violence against Canadians on the ground,” Trudeau said.

The Canadian Prime Minister said that Canadian intelligence officials told Indian officials that there are ‘concerns’ that Indian officials may have been involved during the July-August period of the year 2023.

The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Trudeau’s allegations in September last year of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar. New Delhi rejected Trudeau’s charges as “absurd”.

On Monday, India expelled six Canadian diplomats and announced withdrawing its high commissioner from Canada after dismissing Ottawa’s allegations linking the envoy to a probe into the killing of Nijjar.