
PM Trudeau says 'fight' with India not something Canada wants right now; seeks to 'work constructively' with New Delhi
The Hindu
PM Trudeau reiterates allegations of India violating Vienna Convention, says Canada wants to "work constructively" on "very serious matter". India rejected allegations as "absurd" and "motivated".
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has underlined that a "fight" with India was not something Canada wanted to be having right now but reiterated his allegations and said Ottawa wants to "work constructively" with New Delhi on this "very serious matter".
Addressing the media on Friday, Mr. Trudeau also alleged that India violated the Vienna Convention as over 40 Canadian diplomats were shifted from India after New Delhi threatened to strip them of their diplomatic immunity.
The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Mr. Trudeau's allegations in September of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.
India rejected Mr. Trudeau's allegations as "absurd" and "motivated".
In his fresh remarks, Prime Minister Trudeau said that his government reached out to India to ask them to work together in getting to the bottom of this matter.
"From the very beginning when we learned of credible allegations that agents of the Indian govt were involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil, we reached out to India to ask them to work with us in getting to the bottom of this matter,” he said while addressing the media.