The Canadian government has identified India’s ambassador to Canada and other Indian diplomats as persons of interest in an investigation, according to a statement released on Monday by the Indian foreign ministry.
The government in New Delhi said it would recall its top diplomat in Ottawa and others implicated in response, citing “an atmosphere of extremism and violence” which it said endangers their safety.
The statement did not explain what the investigation was about and the Canadian government has not issued any response. A spokeswoman for the Canadian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The two countries have been in an intense dispute following the assassination of a Canadian Sikh cleric in British Columbia in September last year, which the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time had been orchestrated by the Indian government.
Canada is home to a large Sikh community and India has said that some Sikhs in Canada are actively involved in a secessionist movement that seeks to carve out a Sikh homeland.
The Indian government has vehemently denied the accusations that it was involved in the killing of the cleric and has claimed that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada is pandering to Canada’s large Sikh community for political gain.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, a prominent Sikh leader and president of a Sikh temple in Surrey, was killed outside the temple two years ago. Three Indian nationals have been arrested and charged in the ongoing investigation.
The deepening rift between the two nations comes as the United States, the European Union and others try to court India as a counterweight to Russia on the world stage.
In its statement, the Indian foreign ministry on Monday attacked Mr. Trudeau: “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 Indian government asserts that Mr. Trudeau is in cahoots with Sikh separatists because they support him and his Liberal Party.
The statement by the Indian government comes as a Canadian parliamentary committee investigates interference of foreign powers in domestic politics.
A Canadian parliamentary report in June based on information provided by the country’s intelligence services identified China and India as the two countries that pose the biggest risk of foreign interference in Canadian politics.
India’s high commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, has described the report as politically motivated and dismissed its findings. He is the equivalent of India’s ambassador to Canada.
Canada’s accusations against India regarding the assassination of Mr. Nijjar were bolstered by a United States investigation into a similar, unsuccessful plot against a U.S.-based Sikh cleric.
On Monday the Indian government expressed its full support for Mr. Kumar Verma. “The aspersions cast on him by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt,” it said.
As part of the fallout between Canada and India over Mr. Nijjar’s killing, Canada has withdrawn dozens of its diplomats from India.
The Canadian foreign ministry did not respond to a request to confirm the diplomatic communication between the two countries, nor would it discuss the subject of the investigation.
The post India Pulls Top Diplomat From Canada in Growing Spat Between the Countries appeared first on New York Times.