India livid after Canada wanted to interrogate its diplomats over Nijjar murder
The Narendra Modi government is livid at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after Canada sent a communique on Sunday night asking India to waive off diplomatic immunity on six Indian diplomats including High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and submit to an interrogation by Royal Canadian Mounted Police on murder of terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18, 2023.
While India has withdrawn its High Commissioner Sanjay Verma and the five other diplomats as well as accused Trudeau for defaming India in pursuit of vote bank politics in a written statement, the Modi government is in no mood to submit to Canadian demand and further diplomatic escalation is on the cards as diplomatic parity has to be maintained.
It is understood that the Canadian communique to India was served both in Delhi and in the High Commission in Ottawa but the language used in the missive was worse than that used at the height of the Cold War. The communique was preceded by burning the effigy of High Commissioner Sanjay Verma in Vancouver on October 12 and using coercion against Indian diplomats through pro-Khalistani activists. Canadian High Commission in Delhi is looked after by Charge de Affairs as no new High Commissioner had been appointed by Ottawa after the tenure of the previous ambassador was over.
With RCMP not finding evidence to nail Indian agents for murder of Khalistan Tiger Force terrorist Nijjar even after one year had passed, Trudeau decided to escalate matters when he virtually ambushed PM Narendra Modi at the ASEAN summit in Laos on October 11. While PM Modi dismissed him by saying that it was not the time and place for discussion, Trudeau said that he had issues to resolve and that he was glad that National Security Advisors of the two countries were meeting the next day. The meeting took place in Singapore on October 12 with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval telling his Canadian counterpart to either share the proof of Indian involvement or stop playing vote bank politics with India. Canada issued the communique after the tough meeting with NSA Doval.
“We are very clear that Canada must substantiate the allegations made against India with legal proof and not just political rhetoric. Any Canadian action against India henceforth will be more than equal in response,” said a top security official.
It is quite evident from the communique that RCMP has no proof against India in the Nijjar case and is wanting to interrogate Indian diplomats with the hope that they implicate themselves in the case. The language used in the communique shows that it has the stamp of the PMO as Trudeau is trying to hold to his extremist Sikh vote bank at any cost.