India says Canada providing 'space' to separatists, terrorists remains its core bilateral issue

The Indian government on Thursday reaffirmed that its "core issue" with Canada remains that it gave space to separatists, terrorists and anti-India elements in that country. Addressing a media conference,  Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India has been consistent on its position. "Our position has been consistent. We have highlighted how we see the problem and frankly, the core issue remains the space that is given to extremists, terrorists and anti-India elements in that country," Bagchi said.

India's reaction came a day after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said India's ties with Canada may have undergone "a tonal shift" following the indictment of an Indian national in the US for plotting an assassination attempt on a Sikh separatist.

The India-Canada ties were strained after Trudeau alleged that there is a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia on June 18. India, which named Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020, rejected Trudeau's charges as "absurd".

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha earlier this month that Canada has not shared any specific evidence or inputs with India.

Bagchi on Thursday further said India would would take action on such extremist, elements that are misusing the freedom of speech in other countries. "I think you would have heard from the External Affairs Minister recently as well as others, about the developments of that case... and we would hope that they would take action on such extremist, elements that are misusing the freedom of speech and expression in their country," he said.

In November, the US federal prosecutors charged that one Nikhil Gupta was working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist, who holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada. Though the separatist Sikh leader was not named, media reports identified him as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the leader of the Sikhs for Justice, an organisation banned in India.

UK daily Financial Times had first reported that the US “thwarted a conspiracy to assassinate” Pannun on American soil and “issued a warning to India.

On the US's claims about Pannun, Bagchi added that a high-level committee has been formed, which is probing the US inputs. The constitution of the committee, formed on November 18, has not, however, been made public.

Bagchi said, “We take seriously the inputs that have been provided by the US side, and a high-level inquiry committee has been constituted to look into all relevant aspects of the matter. This factor has also been noted by these members of Congress, and I don’t have any further update on it. I certainly don’t have any update on the committee or its timelines or its findings as of right now.”

Also read: Change in India's tone after warning from US over assassination plot: Justin Trudeau