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As the diplomatic row escalated between India and Canada on Tuesday over allegations of the Government of India's involvement in the killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023, an old video of EAM Jaishankar is doing rounds on the internet where he said that ‘Newton’s law of politics’ will apply in Canada too.
Addressing a press briefing, EAM Jaishankar said "We have been telling Canada that these are wanted criminals in India. And Canada is giving visas to wanted criminals. They have come, many of them, in false documentation. And yet you allow them to live there. If you decide to import, for political purposes, people with very dubious, actually very negative background, there will be issues."
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"The number of gangland people, number of people with organised crime links from Punjab have been welcomed in Canada," the External Affairs Minister said.
"The party power in Canada has given these kinds of extremism, separatism, advocates of violence, a certain legitimacy, in the name of free speech. The Newton's law of politics will apply there also," said EAM Jaishankar.
What Led To India, Canada Expelling Diplomats? Timeline Of Events Explain How Relations Soured
The diplomatic relations between India and Canada have touched a new low after both nations expelled each other’s ambassador on Monday. India announced withdrawing its high commissioner and other "targeted diplomats and officials" from Canada after strongly dismissing Ottawa's allegations linking the envoy to an investigation into the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Further, New Delhi also suspended six Canadian diplomates including Acting High Commissioner Stewart Ross Wheeler, 2. Deputy High Commissioner Patrick Hebert, First Secretary Marie Catherine Joly, First Secretary Ross David Trites, First Secretary Adam James Chuipka and First Secretary Paula Orjuela.
How India-Canada Relations Soured?
The relations between India and Canada came under severe strain following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in September last year of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar.
Nijjar (45) was the chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force and was a close associate of Gurdeep Singh alias Deepa Heranwala, who was involved in the killing of around 200 people in Punjab during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was shot by unidentified assailants on June 18, 2023, near the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, Vancouver.
A Timeline of Events
June 18, 2023: Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, is shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population. He was a Canadian citizen campaigning for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland carved out of India. Nijjar has been designated as a terrorist by the Indian government.
Sept. 1, 2023: A Canadian trade official says Canada paused talks on a proposed trade treaty with India, an unexpected move that came about three months after both countries said they planned to seal an initial pact in 2023.
Sept. 10, 2023: Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveys strong concerns about Sikh separatist protests in Canada to Prime Minister Trudeau on the sidelines of a G20 summit in New Delhi.
Sept. 18, 2023: Trudeau tells parliament that Canada was “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to Nijjar’s killing.
Sept. 19, 2023: India dismisses Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd.” Each country expels a diplomat in tit-for-tat moves.
Sept. 22, 2023: India suspends issuing new visas for Canadians and asks Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in India. India, however, resumed issuing visas two months later.
Oct. 19, 2023: Canada has withdrawn 41 diplomats from India amid a dispute over Nijjar’s murder, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said.
Nov. 21, 2023: India’s anti-terror agency files a case against Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun stating that he warned Air India passengers in video messages shared on social media that their lives were in danger.
Nov. 22, 2023: A senior Biden administration official says U.S. authorities thwarted a plot to kill Pannun in the United States.
April 30, 2024: The White House describes as a serious matter a Washington Post report that an officer in India’s intelligence service was directly involved in both Nijjar’s killing and the foiled plot to kill Pannun in the U.S. India’s foreign ministry said the report contained “unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations.”
May 3, 2024: Canadian police charge four people for allegedly being linked to Nijjar’s murder. Karan Brar (22), Kamalpreet Singh (22), Amardeep Singh (22) and 28-year-old Karanpreet Singh are arrested for their alleged role in Nijjar murder.
Aug. 27, 2024: Canadian police warn Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an aide to Nijjar, of an increased threat to his life, a prominent Sikh separatist says.