India has denied, obfuscated, attacked me personally: Trudeau on Nijjar killing

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed authorities have "clear and compelling evidence" that agents of the Indian government are involved in activities threatening public safety, including clandestine operations and coercion targeting South Asian Canadians.

In Short

• Trudeau accuses Indian agents of threatening safety in Canada
• Canada seeks cooperation from India, but claims efforts rejected
• Trudeau urges India to cooperate with Hardeep Nijjar murder investigation

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau voiced strong concern about New Delhi's activities in Ottawa and claimed that the Canadian law enforcement had made "several attempts" to work with Indian counterparts on these matters but were "repeatedly refused".

Trudeau claimed that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had "clear and compelling evidence" that agents of the Indian government were involved in activities threatening public safety, including clandestine operations and coercion targeting South Asian Canadians, further escalating the diplomatic row between the two countries.

This comes after India recalled its top envoy to Ottawa and expelled six Canadian diplomats from the country. The tit-for-tat move came after Canada expelled six Indian diplomats and linked them to an investigation into the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Trudeau alleged that Canadian officials had made multiple attempts to collaborate with Indian authorities, but these efforts were rejected. "This is unacceptable," he said at a presser on Monday.

"This is why this weekend Canadian officials took an extraordinary step. They met with Indian officials to share RCMP evidence which concluded that six agents of the Government of India are persons of interest in criminal activities," he claimed.

Highlighting the escalating tension between Canada and India, Trudeau stated that Canada did not seek to create a diplomatic rift. "This is not a choice that Canada made to create a chill in Canada-India relations," Trudeau said.

He stressed the importance of Canada's ties with India, noting that it was a "country with which we have deep historical people-to-people business ties." However, tensions escalated after Canadian intelligence suggested India's possible involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Trudeau said.

"India was possibly, if not probably, behind Nijjar's killing," Trudeau claimed.

Trudeau said that the Canadian government earlier reached out to India to seek cooperation with the probe. "Our first choice to the government of India [was] to say, we know this has happened, work with us to fix this," he said.

"So every step of the way we have apprised India of what we know. I've spoken directly with Prime Minister Modi. We have engaged with intelligence counterparts, and unfortunately, every step of the way, both after I made the statement in the House of Commons last September and till now, the response of the Indian government has been to deny, to obfuscate, to attack me personally and the integrity of the government of Canada," he said.

Trudeau emphasised the seriousness of the situation, urging India to cooperate with ongoing investigations.

Acknowledging the deep concerns and fears gripping the Indo-Canadian and Sikh communities in the wake of recent revelations, Trudeau said that he understands why many are "angry, upset, and frightened."

"Canada-India has a long history rooted in people-to-people ties, business, and trade. But we cannot abide by what we are seeing right now. Canada fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, and we expect the Indian government to do the same for Canada. As PM, it is my responsibility to provide reassurance to those who are feeling that the safety has been compromised, but most importantly, it is my responsibility to take action," he stated.