India on Friday slammed the Canadian parliament’s ‘moment of silence’ for Khalistani Tiger Force terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18, exactly a year after he was gunned down in Surrey, British Columbia.
“We oppose any move giving political space to extremism,” ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at the weekly briefing.
Canada’s House of Commons had observed ‘moment of silence’ in the memory of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose killing has strained relations between India and Canada.
Last September, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau claimed before the North American country’s parliament about ‘credible allegations’ of a potential role of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar. The Canadian intelligence has been trying to build a narrative to project Nijjar as an innocent and religious-minded head of Guru Nanak Gurudwara in Surrey, Canada.
A dossier prepared by Indian intelligence agencies stated that Nijjar was became the head of the Sikh temple by threatening his own cousin Raghbir Singh Nijjar.
However, Trudeau is yet to provide any concrete proof to substantiate his allegations. India has repeatedly asked Ottawa to crack down on pro-Khalistani extremists carrying out anti-India activities from its soil. However, Trudeau’s government has turned a deaf ear to India’s objections.
On Thursday, India had lodged a strong protest with Canada over an event by pro-Khalistani elements burning the effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Vancouver.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar last month had said that New Delhi gave Ottawa a list of 25 names that included Khalistani extremists and gangsters, for extradition, but there was no response from the Trudeau government. It is known that the Canadian prime minister runs a minority government with support of Khalistan-linked New Democratic Party run by India hater Jagmeet Singh.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra last week said India’s main issue with Canada continues to be the political space that Ottawa provides to anti-India elements which advocate extremism and violence.