India Warns Canada On ‘Absurd, Baseless’ Claims, Alleges Surveillance Of Officials

In its response to Canada’s allegation against Union minister Amit Shah, India on Friday summoned the country’s diplomat to strongly protest the “absurd and baseless” references made by its minister before a parliamentary panel.

The ministry had also accused Ottawa of surveillance of some Indian consular staff. “We had summoned the representative of the Canadian High Commission yesterday, a diplomatic note was handed over in reference to the proceedings of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security in Ottawa on October 29, 2024,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

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Meanwhile, the Canadian government had added India to a list of enemy nations in terms of cyber security and has been labelled a ‘cyber adversary’. New Delhi had called this move another Canadian strategy to attack and malign India internationally.

During the press conference on Saturday, the Ministry of External Affairs also said that under Trudeau’s administration, senior Canadian officials have openly confessed that Canada is seeking to manipulate global opinions against India. They further alleged that these allegations were made without a shred of evidence.

“We see this as another Canadian strategy to attack and malign India. Their senior officials have openly confessed that Canada is seeking to manipulate global opinions against India. As on other occasions, allegations are made repeatedly without a shred of evidence,” Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said.

When asked about the cancellation of the Diwali celebration by Canadian politicians, the officials said that it is unfortunate that prevailing atmosphere in the country has reached high levels of intolerance and extremism.

The diplomatic relations between India and Canada have already deteriorated after Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau alleged the role of Indian government agents in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June last year.

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Last month, India has recalled its high commissioner Sanjay Verma after the diplomat was named as ‘person of interest’ by Canada in its probe into Nijjar’s killing. On the other hand, New Delhi too withdrew its high commissioner and expelled six Canadian diplomats from its soil.