#JustinTrudeau; #India; #HardeepSinghNijjar; # PavanKumarRai
Toronto/CMEDIA: A day after Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of playing a role in the shooting of a Canadian Sikh leader, he said that he is not trying to provoke India.
“We are not looking to provoke or escalate. We are simply laying out the facts as we understand them…government of India needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are doing that.” Trudeau told reporters Tuesday, before a cabinet meeting.
Making an unprecedented declaration in the House of Commons on Monday, Trudeau accused Indian government’s agents of helping to kill Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, B.C., on June 18.
“Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” Trudeau reportedly said Monday in a speech to the House of Commons.
Already exixting tensions between the two countries flared after Trudeau’s announcement.
The expulsion of Pavan Kumar Rai, the head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s foreign intelligence agency, in Canada on Monday had reportedly been ordered by Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly.
In a statement early Tuesday, India’s foreign ministry said the Canadian high commissioner, or ambassador, in New Delhi had been summoned and told of the expulsion decision.
Trudeau said Tuesday that Canada will remain calm and added,
“We’re going to remain grounded in our democratic principles and values…But Canadians have a right to know and need to know when things are going on like this. And that’s why we made the decision to [reveal] this.”
Already exixting tensions between the two countries flared after Trudeau’s announcement.
The expulsion of Pavan Kumar Rai, the head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s foreign intelligence agency, in Canada on Monday had reportedly been ordered by Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly.
In a statement early Tuesday, India’s foreign ministry said the Canadian high commissioner, or ambassador, in New Delhi had been summoned and told of the expulsion decision.
Trudeau said Tuesday that Canada will remain calm and added,
“We’re going to remain grounded in our democratic principles and values…But Canadians have a right to know and need to know when things are going on like this. And that’s why we made the decision to [reveal] this.”
