"Inappropriate, not even a diplomatic practice": Recalled Indian envoy Sanjay Verma slams Canada's "person of interest" allegations

New Delhi [India], October 24 : Recalled Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma, on Thursday criticised Canadian authorities, stating that it was inappropriate and not a diplomatic practice to label a diplomat as a "person of interest".
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Sanjay Verma recalled that he and five other diplomats were withdrawn by the Government of India amid worsening ties between India and Canada.
India had earlier this month "strongly" rejected a diplomatic communication from Canada suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats were "persons of interest" into killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen designated as a terrorist by India and termed it as "preposterous imputations" and part of the political agenda of the Justin Trudeau government.
"A person of interest is someone whom you question on a particular topic, so it is troubling that a foreign representative is asked to answer the questions of their police authorities. This is inappropriate. This is not even a diplomatic practice. After that, our government said that we would not raise your diplomatic immunity... India withdrew and instructed me and the five other associates to come back," Verma said.
"When this message was conveyed, their acting High Commissioner at that time sent a report... He must have sent a report, and what happened inside I don't even know. But then they declared us as unwanted persons, which in diplomatic terms is called persona non grata. So we have become persona non grata, these six people. This means that if you do not leave that country within the specified timeframe, in this case, Canada, then it will be considered that you are no longer a diplomat, and action can be taken against you according to the country's law," he added.
Answering a query about possible action against him, Verma said there could have been a conspiracy.
"It could have been. It could have been a conspiracy. But as long as my diplomatic immunity is there, I will not expect from a democratic country that it will take any illegal step," he said.
In its hard-hitting statement, India said Prime Minister Trudeau's hostility to India has long been in evidence and his government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists "to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada".
"We have received a diplomatic communication from Canada yesterday suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are 'persons of interest' in a matter related to an investigation in that country. The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centered around vote bank politics," the statement said.
"Since Prime Minister Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023, the Canadian Government has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests from our side. This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains," it added.
The statement said that High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma is India's senior most serving diplomat with a distinguished career spanning 36 years. He has been Ambassador in Japan and Sudan, while also serving in Italy, Turkiye, Vietnam and China.
The aspersions cast on him by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt, the statement said.
"Prime Minister Trudeau's hostility to India has long been in evidence. In 2018, his visit to India, which was aimed at currying favour with a vote bank, rebounded to his discomfort. His Cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India. His naked interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020 showed how far he was willing to go in this regard," the MEA statement said.
"That his Government was dependent on a political party, whose leader openly espouses a separatist ideology vis-a-vis India, only aggravated matters. Under criticism for turning a blind eye to foreign interference in Canadian politics, his Government has deliberately brought in India in an attempt to mitigate the damage," it added.
MEA said the latest development targeting Indian diplomats is now the next step in that direction.
"It is no coincidence that it takes place as Prime Minister Trudeau is to depose before a Commission on foreign interference. It also serves the anti-India separatist agenda that the Trudeau Government has constantly pandered to for narrow political gains," the statement said.
"To that end, the Trudeau Government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada. This has included death threats to them and to Indian leaders. All these activities have been justified in the name of freedom of speech. Some individuals who have entered Canada illegally have been fast-tracked for citizenship," the statement added.
It said that multiple extradition requests from the Government of India in respect of terrorists and organized crime leaders living in Canada have been disregarded," it added."The Government of India has taken cognizance of the activities of the Canadian High Commission in India that serve the political agenda of the current regime. This led to the implementation of the principle of reciprocity in regard to diplomatic representation. India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian Government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats," it added.
The ties between India and Canada soured after Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he has "credible allegations" of India's hand in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.India has denied all the allegations, calling them "absurd" and "motivated" and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country.Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India's National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot and killed outside a Gurdwara in Surrey in June last year.
Trudeau had also said earlier this month that his government had not provided India with hard evidence but just intelligence regarding the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.
Testifying at Canada's foreign interference inquiry, Trudeau said India has been insisting on evidence over allegations levelled by Canada.
"Behind the scenes (were trying) India to co-operate with us. Their ask was...give us the evidence you have on us. Our response was it is within your security agency. You should be looking into how much they know, you should be engaging... 'No, no but show us the evidence'. At that point, it was primarily intelligence, not hard evidentiary proof. So we said let's work together...," he said.