EAM spokesperson slams 'cavalier' Trudeau in Sikh separatist murder row

Indian Foreign Ministry criticizes Canadian PM Trudeau for handling Sikh separatist killing fallout, contrasting with U.S. response.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal slammed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday (October 17, 2024) as "cavalier" over his handling of the disastrous diplomatic fallout following the 2023 killing of a Sikh separatist in Canada.

New Delhi held firm its defiant stance towards Ottawa — an approach in sharp contrast to its compliant attitude this week towards the United States, where India is also accused of directing a separate assassination plot.

Canada has alleged that India arranged the killing of a Sikh separatist, naturalised Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, murdered in the parking lot of a Sikh temple in Vancouver in June 2023. India has called the allegations "preposterous".

Mr. Jaiswal said on Thursday (October 17, 2024) that they had not seen that evidence.

"Canada has presented us (India) no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations that it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats," he said in a statement.

"The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone."

But Mr. Trudeau, at a parliamentary inquiry on Wednesday (October 16, 2024), said Canada had "clear... indications that India had violated Canada's sovereignty".