India on Tuesday expelled six senior Canadian diplomats after announcing its decision to withdraw its High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and other "targeted" diplomats and officials in Canada.
The move came in protest against what New Delhi termed "an atmosphere of extremism and violence" in that country and the Justin Trudeau government's actions "endangering" their safety, reports our New Delhi correspondent.
Late this evening, the Indian External Affairs Ministry issued a press release stating that the government of India has decided to expel six Canadian diplomats who have been asked to "leave India by or before 11:59 pm on Saturday, October 19".
The Canadian diplomats expelled by India are acting High Commissioner Stewart Ross Wheeler, Deputy High Commissioner Patrick Hebert along with first secretaries Marie Catherine Joly, Ian Ross David Trites, Adam James Chuipka and Paula Orjuela.
Earlier today, India announced its decision to pull out its high commissioner to Canada and other diplomats after they were labelled by Canada as "persons of interest" in its probe into the killing of Sikh separatist militant Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Vancouver, Canada.
"We have no faith in the current Canadian government's commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials," the Ministry of External Affairs said in the first statement issued today.
Later, in a separate statement, the MEA said the Canadian Charge d'Affaires in New Delhi was summoned to the foreign ministry by MEA secretary (east) this evening and he was informed that "the baseless targeting of the Indian high commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable."
"It was underlined that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau government's actions endangered their safety. We have no faith in the current Canadian government's commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the government of India has decided to withdraw the high commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials," according to the statement.
It said it was also conveyed to the Canadian diplomat that "India reserves the right to take further steps in response to the Trudeau government's support for extremism, violence and separatism against India."
In the first statement, the MEA firmly rejected Canada's allegations suggesting the involvement of Verma and some other Indian diplomats in a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in that country, describing them as "preposterous" and "centred around Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's "political agenda and vote bank politics."
India's high commissioner to Canada and other Indian diplomats in that country are "persons of interest" in a matter related to a Canadian investigation, the MEA's earlier statement said today quoting a Canadian diplomatic communication.
In a sharp response, the MEA rejected the "preposterous imputations" of Canada's claim and said "it is part of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's "political agenda" centred around "vote bank politics".
