A banner with the image of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

India on June 21 was critical of the Canadian parliament observing “one minute silence” in the memory of Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down in Surrey, British Columbia, in June last year.

“We naturally oppose any moves giving political space to extremism and advocacy of violence,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

In an unusual move, the Canadian parliament observed “one minute silence” two days ago in memory of Nijjar.

The relations between the two countries came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations in September last year of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar’s killing.

New Delhi rejected Mr. Trudeau’s charges as “absurd”.

India has been maintaining that the main issue between the two countries is that of Canada giving space to pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil with impunity.

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra last week said India’s main issue with Canada continues to be the political space that Ottawa provides to anti-India elements which advocate extremism and violence.

India has repeatedly conveyed its “deep concerns” to Canada and New Delhi expects Ottawa to take strong action against those elements, he said.

Nijjar, who was declared a terrorist by India, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in British Columbia on June 18 last year.

The murder is being probed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question during the question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, on June 18, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Canadian parliamentarians stood for a moment of silence to mark one year since the killing of Khalistani separatist and Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18, in a sign that bilateral ties between India and Canada are likely to spiral further downwards, despite a meeting between the two countries’ Prime Ministers, Narendra Modi and Justin Trudeau, in Italy on June 14 .

Khalistani groups were also allowed to take out processions in different Canadian cities, where they shouted anti-India slogans over the killing and called for a trial against Indian officials and Mr. Modi. This came a day after Mr. Trudeau had said that “keeping Canadians safe” — a reference to the Nijjar killing — was a priority in his talks with Mr. Modi.

The Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment on the Canadian parliament’s decision to commemorate the death of Mr. Nijjar, which was taken after an “agreement between representatives of all parties in the House”, according to the Canadian House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus. Mr. Nijjar was wanted on terror charges by the Indian government, which had placed him on its terror list under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. New Delhi had also requested Ottawa to extradite him to India.

Kanishka bombing memorial

In what appeared to be a pointed response to the Canadian parliament’s actions, however, the Indian consulate in Vancouver announced on June 19 that a memorial would be held next week to mark the anniversary of the bombing of an Air India Kanishka plane flying the Montreal-Bombay route, carried out by Khalistani separatists in 1985. The attack killed 329 people, including 268 Canadians and 24 Indians. The consulate urged the Indian diaspora to attend.

“India stands at the forefront of countering the menace of terrorism and works closely with all nations to tackle this global threat,” the consulate wrote on its social media handle, asking people of Indian origin in Canada to “join the event in a show of solidarity against terrorism”.

Keeping Canadians safe’

The meeting between Mr. Modi and Mr. Trudeau on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Italy was the first time the two had come face to face since Mr. Trudeau had, in September 2023, accused Indian “government agents” of being involved in the Nijjar killing and expelled India’s station intelligence chief based in Ottawa. India had responded by cancelling visas, expelling a Canadian diplomat, and ordering the Canadian High Commission’s strength to be reduced by two-thirds. Since then, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has arrested four Indian nationals, but has yet to announce any evidence connecting them to the government.  

After meeting Mr. Modi, who only tweeted a photograph on the exchange with a brief comment, Mr. Trudeau had said that the two Prime Ministers had “committed to work together” to resolve important issues. 

India second-biggest foreign threat to Canadian democracy: report

“Now that he [Mr. Modi] is through his election, I think there is an opportunity for us to engage, including on some very serious issues around national security and keeping Canadians safe and the rule of law that we will be engaging,” Mr. Trudeau said in an interview on June 17 , indicating that the Nijjar case continued to be a top priority.

Stark contrasts

While neither New Delhi nor Ottawa commented on the two separate memorial events, the framing of the anniversaries of the Air India bombing, the single worst act of terror in Canada, and the killing of Mr. Nijjar, who was wanted on terror charges in India, highlights the stark contrast between them.

While India has raised the issue of Canada providing safe havens to Khalistani groups accused of terrorism, who are planning to conduct a “referendum” for a separate State in India, Canada has made the issue about Canadian sovereignty and rule of law, accusing India of “interfering” in Canadian affairs. In addition, Canada has contested Indian claims that it has shared no evidence in the Nijjar case thus far, and also denied that it is blocking Indian requests for the extradition of Canadian citizens wanted for terror.

Ottawa:

Canada’s prime minister said Monday the singling out of a Ukrainian veteran alleged to have fought for the Nazis during World War II for a standing ovation during a visit by Kyiv’s leader was shameful and intolerable.

The speaker of Canada’s parliament, Anthony Rota, has apologised for the gaffe.

He’d paid homage to Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian immigrant, during President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Canada on Friday, telling the House of Commons Hunka had “fought for Ukrainian independence.”

It was later pointed out that Hunka served in the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, a Nazi military unit.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this was “clearly unacceptable.”

“This is something that is deeply embarrassing to the parliament of Canada and by extension to all Canadians,” he told reporters.

A small faction allied with Trudeau’s Liberals called for Rota to resign while the main opposition Conservatives slammed the Trudeau administration for failing to properly vet Hunka, despite claims it had no advance notice he’d been invited to the event.

A Jewish advocacy group called the incident “shocking” and “incredibly disturbing.”

Rota, a Liberal MP, apologised on Sunday, saying that he had “subsequently become aware of more information” which caused him to “regret” his recognition of Hunka.

“This initiative was entirely my own… I particularly want to extend my deepest apologies to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world,” he said, repeating his comments on Monday in the House.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)