Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: The two principal reasons behind the ongoing India-Canada row appear to be: the USA, unhappy with India refusing to condemn the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine since February 2022, is pulling strings against New Delhi via Canada; and Prime Minister Justine Trudeau, panicked at losing power next year, is now a ‘political hostage’ to the Sikh extremists who are extracting their pound of flesh.
His ex, and former political partner, Jagmeet Singh, who heads the New Democratic Party (NDP)—what a name!—and supported Trudeau with 23 Sikh MPs until September, is arm-twisting the Liberal Party for a potential revival of partnership as Canada heads into do-or-die parliamentary elections next year.
Amid an escalating India-Canada diplomatic row, he has demanded a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological fountainhead of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which heads the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in India.
Singh, on Tuesday, faced a volley of tough questions from reporters over his call for sanctions against Indian diplomats, forcing him to walk out of the press conference. Several journalists tried to raise questions while some scoffed at his stand, according to the media reports on Wednesday.
When a reporter asked him about potentially devastating economic consequences linked to his call for sanctions, Singh said, “We need to bring severe sanctions on Indian diplomats. We got the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) saying that Indian diplomats are hiring criminal elements to shoot at Canadians. I mean why would we do anything other than put in place severe sanctions on Indian diplomats.”
“The Modi government has to be held accountable, and we all need to be unified as Canadian leaders. All of us have to be unified in denouncing (PM Narendra) Modi, making sure we protect Canadians by putting their safety first and foremost,” the 45-year-old, a known Khalistani sympathizer, said before abruptly ending his press conference.
As he was leaving the room, one of the reporters appeared to sneer at Singh’s preposterous remarks, saying, “That’s not how it works,” drawing laughter from her colleagues.
The development came after the RCMP claimed that Indian agents present in Canada were working with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to target pro-Khalistan elements in Canada.
Jagmeet Singh had supported Trudeau’s Liberal government for over two years before pulling the plug last month, accusing the Canadian Prime Minister of not fulfilling his “promises.” He has often been involved in rallies featuring Khalistani extremists, advocating for a separate Sikh state in democratic India—but not in theocratic Pakistan, whose parts formed the former Punjab until 1947– where the so-called Khalistan is proposed to be created.
Earlier, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly had hinted that the Trudeau government may impose sanctions on Indian diplomats, saying “everything was on the table.”
The ongoing India-Canada diplomatic row took a sharp turn on Monday when New Delhi lashed out at Ottawa over its wild claims that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are “persons of interest” linked to an investigation into the Nijjar murder. India dismissed them as “preposterous imputations” and downgraded its ties with Canada.
India also said Trudeau’s hostility to India has long been evident and cited his constant support for violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten, and intimidate Indian diplomats in Canada, stressing that these were done in the name of the so-called ‘freedom of speech.’
Both India and Canada recalled six of their diplomats in a tit-for-tat move as New Delhi chided Ottawa for not sharing a “shred of evidence” of New Delhi’s alleged involvement in Nijjar’s killing and not doing enough to tackle separatist elements on Canadian soil.
Bilateral relations between India and Canada nosedived in September last year when Trudeau claimed Indian ‘government agents’ involvement in the Nijjar murder on Canadian soil. New Delhi rejected those charges as “motivated and absurd.”
Nijjar, the chief of Khalistan Tiger Force and wanted by India, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Canada’s Surrey in June 2023.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Jagmeet Singh claimed that Canadian Sikhs were stalked by fear, threats, and harassment from Indian diplomats and called for a ban on RSS in Canada.
“We support today’s (Tuesday) decision to expel India’s diplomats and we are calling on the Government of Canada yet again to put diplomatic sanctions against India in place, ban the RSS in Canada, and commit to pursuing the most severe consequences for anyone found to have participated in organized criminal activity on Canadian soil,” he said.
“New Democrats are extremely worried about the information released by the RCMP commissioner today. Canadians, particularly the Sikh community in Canada, have been stalked by fear, threats, harassment and violence-including extortion, violence, and electoral interference all allegedly at the hands of Indian officials,” he claimed.
Since September 2023, at least 13 people have been warned by the RCMP of grave threats against them. The safety of Canadians has not yet been assured, he said.
The Nijjar supporters also demanded the closure of Indian consulates in Vancouver and Toronto, claiming that their communities will continue to feel threatened otherwise, according to local media outlet CBC News.
Representatives of a gurdwara in British Columbia and the Sikh separatist group Nijjar raised this demand after India and Canada expelled each other’s top diplomats.