As the diplomatic feud between India and Canada continues to exacerbate, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that India's decision to revoke the diplomatic immunity of 41 Canadian diplomats is a violation of the Vienna Convention and it should worry all countries. Trudeau's comments came hours after New Delhi rejected Ottawa's attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms.
What all did Trudeau say?
Speaking at a press conference in Brampton, Ontario, Trudeau highlighted that the Indian government was making it "unbelievably difficult" for life as usual to continue for millions of people in India and in Canada.
"And, they're doing it by contravening a very basic principle of diplomacy," he said.
Citing Vienna Convention, Trudeau alleged that the Indian Government violated important international law.
"The government of India decided to unilaterally revoke the diplomatic immunity of 40 Canadian diplomats in India. This is a violation of the Vienna Convention. governing diplomacy. This is them choosing to contravene a very fundamental principle of international law and diplomacy," he said.
"It is something that all countries in the world should be very worried about, and this is putting aside the allegations we made of a serious violation of international law with the alleged killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil that the Indian government could have been involved in," he said.
Vienna Convention Not Violated: India
Responding to Canada's claim of law violation, Indian government's Ministry of External Affairs on Friday rejected the former's attempt to "portray" the withdrawal of 41 Canadian diplomats from the country as a violation of international norms.Instead, India asserted that ensuring two-way diplomatic parity is fully in compliance with the provisions of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.
"We reject any attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms," the ministry said in a statement.
"Our actions in implementing this parity are fully consistent with Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," the statement said.
Trudeau's remarks came after foreign minister Melanie Joly said on Thursday that Canada had withdrawn 41 diplomats following an Indian threat to unilaterally revoke their status by October 20.
