Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday claimed that the Indian government's crackdown on Canadian diplomats was making normal life difficult for millions of people in both countries. India suspended visa services for Canadians across the world and asked Canada to withdraw 41 diplomats from India, failing which they and their families would lose diplomatic immunities -- a move that stemmed from Trudeau's allegations of a "potential link" of Indian agents with the death of a Khalistani terrorist in Canada.
The Canadian government on Thursday withdrew its 41 diplomats from India and suspended in-person consular services at three consulates general in Chandigarh, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Speaking to reporters at a televised press conference in Brampton, Ontario, Trudeau said, "The Indian government is making it unbelievably difficult for life as usual to continue for millions of people in India and in Canada. And they're doing it by contravening a very basic principle of diplomacy."
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He said the expulsion of some of Canada's diplomats will hamper travel and trade and pose difficulties for Indians studying in Canada, Reuters reported. "It's something that has me very concerned for the wellbeing and happiness of millions of Canadians who trace their origins to the Indian subcontinent," he said.
Tensions flared between India and Canada last month following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's explosive allegations of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. India has rejected Trudeau's allegations as "absurd" and "motivated" and urged Canada to come down hard on terrorists and "anti-India elements" operating from its soil.
