NEW DELHI: India on Thursday rejected the allegations of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau in the Hardeep Singh Nijjar case saying not a “shred” of evidence was shared even as it questioned Canada for not acting on 26 extradition requests made by New Delhi against criminals.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Trudeau’s behaviour was “cavalier”, and that he was solely responsible for the damage caused to the India-Canada relations.
Jaiswal said 26 extradition requests were pending with Canada. Sources said 29 “requests to arrest” too weren’t acted upon. The MEA spokesperson named some prominent wanted criminals, saying Gurjit Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Gurjinder Singh, Lakhbir Singh, alias Landa, and Arsheep Singh Gill were among those sought by India. “They are members of the Lawrence Bishnoi or other gangs. We have already shared information and requested Canada to act,” he said.
Jaiswal said it was strange that the criminals (including Bishnoi gang members) whose deportation India had sought were the ones being blamed by Canada for committing crimes. “Canada’s stance is contradictory,” he said.
Trudeau, in his testimony in a public inquiry being conducted by the Foreign Interference Commission in Canada, alleged on Wednesday that the “Bishnoi gang was acting at the behest of the Indian Government in carrying out threatening activities, shootings and home-invasions against Canadians”.
Jaiswal also said Canada had refused to address India’s concerns regarding action against those espousing separatist pro-Khalistan ideology. “Canada calls it free speech, but it’s unacceptable,” said Jaiswal, citing the example of an objectionable tableau depicting the assassination of former PM Indira Gandhi in Canada.
On Trudeau’s allegations, Jaiswal said, “Since September 2023, Canada hasn’t shared a shred of evidence. We reject the false imputations against our diplomats.” Trudeau had alleged that Indian diplomats were collecting information on people who were not in agreement with the Indian Government. “Then having that information sent to the highest levels in the government, which was then directed to the Bishnoi gang to carry out violence against Canadians,” he alleged.
In his testimony, Trudeau accepted that in August last year, New Delhi asked for evidence. “We said it’s with your security agencies, you should be able to get to how much they know… We had intelligence, not hard evidence,” he said.
The MEA said, “What we have heard (Trudeau’s statement) only confirms what we have been saying consistently all along — Canada has presented us no evidence in support of the allegations levelled against India and Indian diplomats.”