“No Evidence Any Indian Government…”: Shashi Tharoor On India-Canada Row

New Delhi:

Amid a diplomatic standoff between India and Canada, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor called it a disappointing development adding that there is no evidence that any Indian government body is linked with it.

The statement from the Congress MP came amidst tensions in India-Canada relations after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday alleged that the Indian government was behind the fatal shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

“We are now seeing a new phenomenon where immigrants to Canada have become Canadian citizens but are not doing anything in Canadian politics. They’re focusing on how to actually do damage to their country of origin. To my mind, that is a very dangerous development. And, Canada really has to examine its own approach to these people. It’s all very well to claim outrage that a citizen has been killed in Canada,” Shashi Tharoor said.

He further said, “In any case, there is, as far as I’m aware, no evidence that any Indian government body had anything to do with it because we know that, unfortunately, this fringe terrorist group has a number of factions and they have been killing various members including one today.”

Calling it a disappointing development, Shashi Tharoor said that many Indians are seething with frustration about the way in which people who are if not terrorists themselves are fragrantly creating violence against our country.

“We have valued our relationship with Canada, the trade at a considerable level, we have a large Indian diaspora population there 1.7 million in a country of just 40 million, we also have a large number of Indian students and we have not escalated our concerns beyond a certain point, though we have, I’m sure, conveyed them at various levels to the Canadian authorities. It’s a relationship we’ve always valued…I would have expected that Canada would value the relationship as well, but, the extraordinary decision of the PM to go public with an allegation without a shred of evidence, of Indian government complicity in a murder in his country, shocks me to be very frank,” he added.

“It really looks like it’s doubling down on the pandering to a certain political element, in that country. We know the government, is dependent upon certain support. And perhaps this is why they needed to do that. Elections are also coming up very soon. So for all of these reasons, Canadian politics has led to a situation where a very valued relationship between 2 countries has been thrown into jeopardy and I am really surprised Canadians would do that,” Shashi Tharoor said.

When asked about the diplomats being fired in both countries he said that there is a classic case of tit-for-tat going on.

“There is a classic case of tit for tat going on as the Canadians expel an Indian diplomat, and India expels the Canadian diplomat. Canada does something else then India does something else in return. Today India has initiated some action and that is how it going to be responded to,” he added.

“So, my own view is that could have been any other explanation for what happened. In any case, whatever’s happening, why their own citizens are allowed with impunity to behave in this manner, threatening the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and good, interests of a friendly country. There’s something only the Canadians can answer,” he added.

Nijjar, who was a designated terrorist in India, was gunned down outside a Gurdwara, in a parking area in Canada’s Surrey, British Columbia on June 18.

Mr Trudeau during a debate in the Canadian Parliament, claimed his country’s national security officials had reasons to believe that “agents of the Indian government” carried out the killing of the Canadian citizen, who also served as the president of Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara.

The allegations made by the Canadian Prime Minister and foreign minister were rejected by the Ministry of External Affairs in India which dubbed the statements as absurd.

“We have seen and reject the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their Foreign Minister. Allegations of the Government of India’s involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated” the statement said.

 

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