'Cavalier behaviour': MEA after Justin Trudeau's Canada 'had intel, no proof' against India admission

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday late night condemned Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the ongoing diplomatic rift between India and Canada. The late night statement by the MEA placed the blame for the ongoing India-Canada diplomatic war on Trudeau. 

The statement came hours after Trudeau admitted before Canada's foreign interference inquiry that his government only provided "intelligence and no proof" to India over the killing of pro-Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year. Trudeau has accused Indian diplomats of collecting information and using criminal gangs for targeting Khalistanis in Canada. 

The MEA said in its fiercely worded statement that Trudeau's admission on Wednesday echoed what India has been saying all along. The Modi government has said time and again that Canada has been making baseless accusations without providing any evidence. 

"What we have heard today only confirms what we have been saying consistently all along - Canada has presented us no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations that it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats. The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau," the MEA said. 

What Justin Trudeau said

On Wednesday, Trudeau admitted that Canada's agencies tried to work behind the scenes with India before he went public with allegations of Indian involvement in Nijjar's killing. He also said that India sought proof when Ottawa asked New Delhi to look into these allegations. 

"At that point, it was primarily intelligence, not hard evidentiary proof," Trudeau admitted. During his admission in front of the foreign interference inquiry, Trudeau also spoke of his meeting with PM Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit in September last year. 

He said that he sat down and shared with PM Modi that Canada knew of India's involvement in Nijjar's killing and expressed concerns around it before going public with the allegations. 

"He (Modi) responded with the usual response from him, which is that we have people who are outspoken against the Indian government living in Canada that he would like to see arrested," Trudeau said.

Justin Trudeau also alleged that India did not cooperate with the probe and attacked his government, claiming that "India had violated Canada's sovereignty". He also repeated his claim that Canada had "credible evidence" that Indian agents were involved in taking down Nijjar. 

He further named jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, also mentioned by the Royal Canadian Mount Police (RCMP) for being involved in the Nijjar killing. The Canadian PM claimed that Indian diplomats were collecting information and passing it onto the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.