OTTAWA (Reuters) – India’s exiled special envoy to Canada, who Ottawa alleges is linked to the murder of a Sikh leader, insists in an interview that he is innocent, prompting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Although the political relations between the two countries have been destroyed, trade remains intact, he said.
The two countries on Monday ordered the expulsion of six diplomats in retaliation over Ottawa’s claims that New Delhi was targeting Indian dissidents on Canadian territory.
Prime Minister Trudeau specifically linked the six to the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia last year. Sanjay Kumar Verma, India’s special envoy to Canada, told CTV that Trudeau was relying on intelligence, not evidence.
“Based on intelligence, if you want to destroy a relationship, be my guest. And that’s what he did,” Verma said in an interview that aired Sunday.
Asked if there was any involvement in Nijjar’s murder, Verma said: “Absolutely nothing. No evidence was presented. (This) is politically motivated.”
Canada has the largest Sikh population outside of Punjab, and demonstrations in support of creating a separate homeland from India have irritated New Delhi.
But Verma said the episode had nothing to do with trade or cultural ties with Canada, which had $8.4 billion in two-way trade with India as of the end of last year. In recent years, Indians have made up the largest group of international students in Canada.
“There will be feelings on both sides…that could affect some agreements, but in the bigger picture I don’t think it will have much of an impact on the non-political bilateral relationship. ” Verma said.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Additional reporting by Shivam Patel in New Delhi; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and William Maclean)
