Trudeau accuses India of supporting criminal activity, but questions remain about Canada’s claims

Amid escalating diplomatic tensions with India, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed that India had supported criminal activities in Canada and that his country had faced India’s refusal after requesting cooperation from the Indian government. Regarding the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Trudeau also claimed he had credible evidence that Indian agents were involved.

However, Canadian journalist Daniel Bordman has questioned Trudeau’s claims and also said he doesn’t think he is “credible.”

At a news conference in Ottawa, Trudeau also cited evidence from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and said the activities of Indian agents posed a threat to public safety.

“As the RCMP Commissioner previously stated, he has clear and convincing evidence that agents of the Government of India have conducted and continue to conduct activities that pose a significant threat to public safety.” These include clandestine intelligence gathering techniques and coercion South Asian Canadians and engaging in over a dozen threats and violations, including murder. This is unacceptable,” Trudeau said.

“While the RCMP and national security officials have made attempts to work with the Indian government and law enforcement agencies on this matter, these have been repeatedly rejected. That’s why Canadian officials took an extraordinary step this weekend. They met with Indian officials to share RCMP evidence, which concluded that six Indian government agents were interested in criminal activity. Despite repeated requests to the Indian government, it chose not to cooperate,” he said.

Trudeau continued: “I know that the events of the past year and today’s revelations have shocked many Canadians, particularly those in the Indo-Canadian and Sikh communities. “Many of you are angry, upset, scared, I understand that. This shouldn’t happen.”

“Canada and India have a long and storied history based on people-to-people relationships, business and trade, but we cannot dwell on what we are seeing. Canada fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India and we expect the Indian government to do the same for Canada,” he said.

“As Prime Minister, it is my responsibility to reassure those who feel security is at risk, but most importantly, it is my responsibility to take action and never hesitate to do what is necessary to protect Canadians protect, and that.” “That’s exactly what we’re doing today,” said Trudeau.

Commenting on his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, Trudeau said: “When I spoke to Prime Minister Modi late last week, I emphasized how incredibly important the meeting of our national security advisers this weekend in Singapore would be.” He probably knew about this meeting and I urged him to take it very, very seriously.”

India has made a fundamental mistake: TRUDEAU

At the press conference, Trudeau said he believed India had made a “fundamental mistake” in believing it could support criminal activity against Canadians on Canadian soil. He also said the RCMP has now broken the pattern of Indian diplomats gathering information on Canadian citizens through questionable and illegal means.

“It is clear that the Indian government made a fundamental mistake in thinking it could support criminal activity against Canadians here on Canadian soil, be it murder, extortion or other acts of violence. This is absolutely unacceptable for any country, any democracy, that upholds the rule of law. That’s why we need to take such significant action.”

“Why the RCMP decided today to speak out and break the pattern of Indian diplomats using questionable and illegal means to collect information on Canadian citizens which is then passed on to criminal organizations who would then take violent action against Canadians, by Blackmail and even murder.” No country, especially a constitutionally democratic country, can accept this fundamental violation of its sovereignty. Canada fully accepts and respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. We expect India to do the same, and in this case they didn’t,” Trudeau said.

I CANNOT IGNORE NIJJAR’S KILLING: TRUDEAU

Trudeau also said in Ottawa that he could not ignore the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.

“None of us want to be in this situation. This is not a decision by Canada to cool Canada-India relations. India is an important democracy, a country with which we have always enjoyed close people-to-people business ties at a time when geopolitical instability means democracies need to stick together. When we began to understand through intelligence that India was possibly, if not likely, behind the assassination of (Hardeep Singh) Nijjar and the murder of a Canadian on Canadian soil last summer, our first choice was to contact ours Five Eyes partners (including Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States), but also to the Indian government to say we are aware this happened and are working with us to fix the problem. “

“We don’t want to fight this fight, but obviously as a country we cannot ignore the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil. So we have informed India of what we know every step of the way,” Trudeau said.

“I have spoken directly to Prime Minister Modi. We have been working with intelligence colleagues and unfortunately the Indian government’s response at every step of the way, both after I made the statement in the House of Commons last September and so far, has been to deny, obscure and attack me personally and the integrity of the Canadian government and its officials and police departments. All we have said is that we will allow our authorities to do the work, particularly the transition from intelligence gathering by authorities to police investigations that lead to arrests, trials and consequences within a rigorous, robust and independent justice system. That was our approach every step of the way.”

“In fact, last week, when the RCMP reached out to their law enforcement counterparts in India, there was a way in which we could have worked together to ensure accountability and changes and steps that would have resulted in keeping Canadians safe, Because that is our job.” “Top priority,” said Trudeau.

“The Indian government rejected these advances and rejected our attempts to find a way out of it, and that brought us to the point where we had to disrupt the chain of operations that went from Indian diplomats here in Canada to criminal organizations to direct violent impact on Canadians across the country,” he added.

The diplomatic dispute between India and Canada is escalating

Canada announced on Monday the expulsion of six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, after police accused Indian government agents of being linked to killings, harassment and other “acts of violence” against Sikh separatists in the country.

Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement Monday that the decision to expel the diplomats was made “with great consideration and only after (Canadian police) had collected ample, clear and concrete evidence that identified six individuals as that are of interest to the Nijjar.” Case.”

The extraordinary move has sharply heightened diplomatic tensions between the countries, with India quickly expelling six Canadian diplomats in response, including acting high commissioner Stewart Ross Wheeler, an Indian foreign ministry statement said.

Relations between the two countries reached their lowest point last year when Trudeau said he had credible information linking the Indian government to Nijjar’s killing.