New Delhi:
Indian envoy to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma – now withdrawn by New Delhi — has accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of wrecking bilateral ties with India and reiterated that Ottawa’s allegations are politically motivated. Ottawa has accused Mr Verma of having links to the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India’s response to the allegations was to withdraw the diplomats. It was followed by Canadian government’s move to formally expel them. India reiterated by ordering out six Canadian diplomats.
In an interview to CTV aired on Sunday, Mr Verma said, “On the basis of intelligence, if you want to destroy a relationship, be my guest. And that’s what he did”.
Justin Trudeau had specifically tied the Indian diplomats to the murder of Nijjar that took place last year in British Columbia.
Asked whether he had had anything to do with Nijjar’s murder, Mr Verma said: “Nothing at all. No evidence was presented. (This is) politically motivated.”
“On what basis do they want to question me… If you are a defendant, for example, which I am not, then evidence would be shared and that happens even if you are caught for a petty crime. If I’m going for an interrogation I need to know what I am interrogated for. I need to know what evidence you have so I go prepared,” Mr Verma told the Canadian network when asked about India’s refusal to join the so-called ongoing investigations.
Ties between the two nations – on a downward spiral since September last year — have nosedived after the series of fresh allegations.
The Foreign Ministry has slammed Ottawa for its allegations against Mr Verma — one of the country’s senior-most diplomats who has served in Japan, Sudan, Italy, Turkey, Vietnam and China.
The allegations, India said, were “ludicrous” and deserved to be treated with contempt. New Delhi said it has “no faith in the current Canadian Government’s commitment to ensure their security”.
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