‘Indians will decide the fate of India, not foreigners’: Envoy warns Khalistanis against crossing ‘big red line’

Khalistani row: Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma amid the tension between Canada and India over the Khalistani movement, has asked Canadian pro-Khalistan groups to not cross the “big red line” that New Delhi sees as a matter of national security and territorial integrity. 

According to a report by CTV News, Verma warned Khalistanis that calling for the separation of their homeland from India is crossing a big red line. "Indians will decide the fate of India, not the foreigners," Verma told the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, a prominent think-tank. 

Despite “a lot of noise” relations between India and Canada are overall positive, he said, adding that the two countries are trying to solve the issue. "We are ready to sit down at the table any day, and we are doing that," he said. 

Verma said that deeper problems underneath the recent negative developments have to do with Canada’s misunderstanding of ‘decades-old issues’ that he blames on Indian-origin Canadians. 

India does not recognise dual citizenship, so anyone who emigrated is a foreigner, he said. "Foreigners having, if I can call it, (an) evil eye on the territorial integrity of India – that is a big red line for us," he said.

Verma’s statement comes as three Indian nationals, accused of killing Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year, were arrested and produced before a court by Canadian police.

This comes a day after India criticised Canada for celebrating and glorifying violence. 

"We continue to remain concerned about the security of our diplomatic representatives in Canada and expect the Government of Canada to ensure that they are able to carry out their responsibilities without fear," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement in response to the violent imagery being used by extremist elements in Canada against India's political leadership.

"We again call upon the Government of Canada to stop providing criminal and secessionist elements a safe haven and political space in Canada,” the MEA spokesperson said in New Delhi.