LIVE | Indian govt or rogue element ‘violated sovereignty’? Trudeau has no idea

India believes that Canada doesn’t take violence or terrorism or incitement to hatred seriously, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said while testifying before the public inquiry into foreign interference in federal electoral processes and democratic institutions.

Trudeau had no definite answer when asked if the alleged interference was a rogue element or authorized by the responsible members of the Government of India. In fact, the Canadian government was seeking India’s help to find that out, he added.

“I think that is an extremely important question and that is a question that actually we have been repeatedly asking the government of India to assist us on and to get to the bottom of the question of whether it is or could be rogue elements within the government or whether it was a more systemic, systematic endeavour for the government of India is exactly the kind of thing that for investigators here on the ground in Canada, it is somewhat removed from being able to uncover the internal machinations of the Indian government of who went wrong or who did this or who did that,” Trudeau said.

“That’s why from the very beginning we have been asking for India, the Indian government to take these allegations seriously and proceed with their own investigations and work with us on figuring out exactly how these egregious violations of Canadian sovereignty actually happened,” he said.

“I’d actually say there seemed to be two goals in this. One is, yes, to make Canadians, particularly South Asian Canadians, feel less safe here in their own country. But, secondly is actually to help prove a point that the Indian government has been trying to make about Canada for quite some time, that we are a country that doesn’t take seriously violence or terrorism or incitements to hatred, which is entirely false, but failing an ability to point out how Canada has been supposedly failing to prevent violence,” Trudeau told the public inquiry.

“It seems like folks within the Indian government have decided to create violence and unlawfulness in Canada as a way of demonstrating the point that they are trying to make that there is violence and unlawfulness in Canada and I think that is exceptionally egregious as an approach to as a neighbour, a sovereign democracy,” he said.

Responding to a question, Trudeau said Canada is not looking to provoke or create a fight with India.

“The Indian government made a horrific mistake in thinking that they could interfere as aggressively as they did in the safety and sovereignty of Canada, and we need to respond in order to ensure Canadian’s safety. What other steps we will take will be determined in due course, but every step of the way our single overarching priority is ensuring that we are keeping all Canadians safe,” he said.

“We believe in the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of India. We respect that. We certainly expect India to respect the sovereignty of Canada, which in this case they have not,” he said. “It is also extremely important that people who come to this country…understand that they are free to hold the political beliefs that they choose to when you’re in Canada,” he added.

Responding to a question, Trudeau said the issue of the Indian government as possible source of foreign interference is not something that only appeared over the past weeks or even over the past year. “Canadian intelligence agencies have been collecting that information for a number of years now,” he said.

Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has told a Canadian news channel that his Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) outfit was in touch with Trudeau’s office and had shared information against India in the wake of fellow Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder.

Pannun told CBC News that he provided information to Trudeau “detailing the spying network” of the Indian high commission. He added that Canada’s allegation against India showed Otawa’s “unwavering commitment to justice, rule of law and the national security”.

He claimed that SFJ has been communicating with the Canadian PMO for the past two to three years.

The US had a “productive meeting” with visiting officials of the India Enquiry Committee, a State Department official said on Wednesday, adding they were satisfied with the cooperation from the Indian side.

“We are satisfied with the cooperation. It continues to be an ongoing process. We continue to work with them on that, but we do appreciate the cooperation and we appreciate them updating us on their investigation as we update them on ours,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference.

He was responding to a question on the visit of officials from the India Enquiry Committee, which is investigating the American allegations of involvement of an Indian official in the assassination plot of Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is also an American citizen.

“The meeting that occurred yesterday – we updated – we being the US government broadly – updated members of the Committee of Inquiry about the investigation that the United States has been conducting. We’ve received an update from them on the investigation that they have been conducting. It was a productive meeting and I will leave it at that,” Miller said.

“They did inform us that the individual, who was named in the Justice Department indictment is no longer an employee of the Indian government,” he said in response to a question.

The Congress has said the government should clear its stance on the allegations made by Canada and the US which are tarnishing India’s global image and take the Opposition into confidence.

The Opposition must be fully informed as safeguarding India’s global standing is a shared responsibility, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said.

“Our nation’s international image as a country that believes in and adheres to rule of law is at risk, and it is crucial that we act together to defend it,” he said on X.

He said the Congress has already asked the Prime Minister to take the Leaders of Opposition in both Houses of Parliament, and other political leaders, into confidence on the “serious charges levelled against the government of India by USA and Canada”.

He said this demand is necessitated by the worsening India-Canada relations and growing concerns about India-US ties.

Ramesh said the allegations made by Canada, now backed by several other countries, are threatening to escalate, tarnishing India's global reputation and damaging Brand India.

“It is imperative that the Government of India promptly and clearly articulate its stance on this issue,” the Congress leader noted.

“On matters relating to national security and foreign policy, the nation must always be one,” the Congress leader asserted.