India has summoned a Canadian High Commission representative to lodge a strong protest against Canada's allegations linking Home Minister Amit Shah to plots against Sikh separatists on Canadian soil .
Replying to a question on Saturday, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said a representative of the Canadian High Commission had been summoned on Friday and a diplomatic note was handed over.
"It was conveyed in the note that the Government of India protests in the strongest terms to the absurd and baseless references made to the Union Home Minister of India before the Committee by Deputy Minister David Morrison," Jaiswal said.
"In fact, the revelation that high Canadian officials deliberately leak unfounded insinuations to the international media as part of a conscious strategy to discredit India and influence other nations only confirms the view Government of India has long held about the current Canadian Government's political agenda and behavioural pattern. Such irresponsible actions will have serious consequences for bilateral ties," he said.
This move comes after Canada's Deputy Foreign Minister David Morrison and senior official Nathalie Drouin confirmed an information leak to The Washington Post implicating Union home minister Amit Shah's alleged involvement in violence against Sikh separatists on Canadian soil. Both Morrison and Drouin testified before Members of Parliament (MPs) of the Public Safety and National Security Committee.
On October 14, Canada expelled the Indian high commissioner and five other diplomats, alleging they were persons of interest in multiple cases of coercion, intimidation and violence aimed at quieting a campaign for Khalistan. India responded by expelling Canadian officials.
The diplomatic tensions between India and Canada have been simmering since September 2023, when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of involvement in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh separatist. India has dismissed these claims as "absurd and motivated."
Meanwhile, India has sought evidence from Canada to support its claims on the Nijjar killing. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said last year that India is open to investigating but needs Canada to provide concrete evidence. However, Canada has maintained that it has provided evidence to India, establishing “links tying agents of the Government of India (GOI) to homicides and violent acts”.
The roots of this tension lie in Sikh separatism, which has its origins in insurgency during the 1980s and early '90s. Canada is home to approximately 770,000 Sikhs, the largest Sikh diaspora outside Punjab. India has criticised Canada for failing to oppose the pro-Khalistan movement within its borders.
