Sanjay Kumar Verma, who was recalled to New Delhi as India’s High Commissioner to Canada after the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau led government's actions "endangered safety" of Indian diplomats, has stressed that not a shred of evidence was shared by the authorities in Ottawa over their allegations concerning a killing in the country. In an in-depth interview on his return to India, the senior envoy described the move as ill-conceived targeting of India through politically motivated allegations. Verma also flagged that the Khalistani extremists based in Canada as Canadian citizens wield significant political influence in the country.
"If you look at the entire episode, and we have always been maintaining that there is no shred of evidence shared with us, I feel it is largely politically motivated and an ill-conceived targeting of India. We are a responsible democracy. We do not have a policy to interfere in the internal affairs of any country," he told ANI.
"The Khalistani extremists and terrorists out of Canada are Canadian citizens. So, they have a lot of political influence there and they have veiled it often. They impress upon various political parties to have their own views. That dependence certainly smells of conspiracy against India. These Khalistani extremists and terrorists are not pro-India but they are also not pro-Canada. They are destroying relations between India and Canada," he added.
On allegations against him, Verma added: "It was painful as I had gone there to further improve the ties between the two nations and allegations were levelled against me – that too, such a dirty allegation that might have a bad repute to my country. I don't care about my reputation, but no one should slander my country. It feels bad that I was not successful in the work for which I went there but I also feel that if my nation's interests are harmed, then it is my duty to protect my country."
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Amid worsening ties between India and Canada, Delhi had earlier this month "strongly" rejected a diplomatic communication from Canada suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats were "persons of interest" in an investigation and termed it as "preposterous imputations" and part of the political agenda of the Justin Trudeau government. In a hard-hitting statement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Trudeau's hostility to India has long been in evidence and his government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists "to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada".
India had also expelled six Canadian diplomats hours after it summoned Canada's Charge d'Affaires Stewart Wheeler and conveyed that the "baseless targeting" of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable. India underlined that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau government's actions endangered their safety.
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The ties between India and Canada soured after Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he has "credible allegations" of India's hand in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has denied all the allegations, calling them "absurd" and "motivated" and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country. Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2020, was shot and killed outside a gurdwara in Surrey in June last year.
"When we were discussing on the government channel (with Canada), we shared the name of Goldy Brar who is also on our list for extradition. In the Canadian system, the RCMP doesn't bring out any wanted list. But there is a civic organisation 'Bolo' which in back-channel consultation with authorities in Canada they take out list of 10 most wanted persons. Next time we looked at the same list, it was all gone. What happened," questioned Sanjay Kumar Verma.
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In a gazetted notification, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has stated that Goldy Brar is associated with the banned Khalistani organisation Babbar Khalsa International, which is known for anti-India activities. Brar came on the radar of Indian investigative agencies after he took responsibility for the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala in 2022.
Verma also highlighted the role of Pakistan in fuelling Khalistani elements: "We do know and understand that Pakistani agencies have close links to Pakistani extremists and terrorists. We can see the examples of those terrorists who were living in Pakistan... Yes, there are global links. I will have no doubts that these global links will also be valid for Canada."
(ANI)
