India on Saturday accused Canada of spying on Indian consular officials and said that high commission officials in the country are “functioning in an environment of extremism and violence.”
“Some of our Consular officials were recently informed by the Canadian Government that they have been and continue to be under audio and video surveillance. Their communications have also been intercepted,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
He said that the Canadian actions are a “flagrant violation of relevant diplomatic and consular conventions” and that they risk ties to deteriorate further between the two countries.
“By citing technicalities, the Canadian Government cannot justify the fact that it is indulging in harassment and intimidation. Our diplomatic and consular personnel are already functioning in an environment of extremism and violence. This action of the Canadian Government aggravates the situation and is incompatible with established diplomatic norms and practices,” Jaiswal added.
Relations between India and Canada have gone sour with New Delhi recalling its High Commissioner in Ottawa. The ties witnessed a setback after Canada accused India of killing its citizen and Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a claim that has been strongly rejected by India all along. New Delhi, on the other hand, has slammed the country of levelling “baseless” accusations without the existence of evidence.
On allegations against Amit Shah
India has protested in the strongest possible terms the references made by a Canadian minister about Union Home Minister Amit Shah and such “absurd and baseless” allegations will have serious consequences for bilateral ties between the two countries, the Minister of External Affairs has said.
The comments came after Canada’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison on Tuesday alleged that Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada.
Morrison had also told Canadian Parliament members of the national security committee that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which first reported the allegations.
Jaiswal said this revelation that high Canadian government officials deliberately leaked unfounded insinuations to international media as part of a conscious strategy to discredit India and influence other nations only confirms the view that the Indian government has long held about the current Canadian government’s political agenda and behavioural pattern.
With inputs from agencies
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