Congress On India-Canada Tensions: The ongoing diplomatic dispute between India and Canada escalated late on Monday (October 14) night. India recalled its top ambassador to Ottawa and expelled six Canadian diplomats from the country. On the matter, the Congress party said that the matter is extremely sensitive and it is expected that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take opposition leader Rahul Gandhi into confidence.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), “The Indian National Congress (INC) certainly hopes and expects that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi Will immediately take into confidence the leaders of the opposition in both Houses of Parliament and leaders of other political parties on the extremely sensitive and delicate issue of deteriorating India-Canada relations.
Same drum and same melody of Canada!
Ahead of Monday's developments, Ottawa named India's High Commissioner to Canada and some other diplomats as 'persons of interest' in the investigation into the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. In response, India initially announced the withdrawal of High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and other diplomats from Canada.
The Indian National Congress certainly hopes and expects that Prime Minister @narendramodi will take the Leader of Opposition in both Houses of Parliament, and the leaders of other political parties into confidence immediately on the extremely sensitive and delicate issue of…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) October 14, 2024
Soon after, India said it was expelling six Canadian diplomats from New Delhi, including the acting high commissioner. All of them have been asked to leave India by the end of this week.
These people were asked to leave India
India has expelled six Canadian diplomats, including Acting High Commissioner Stewart Ross Wheeler, Deputy High Commissioner Patrick Hebert and First Secretaries Mary Catherine Joly, Lan Ross David Trites, Adam James Chuipka and Paula Orjuela. They have been asked to leave India in five days i.e. by 11.59 pm on Saturday, October 19.
Earlier, while announcing the return of India's High Commissioner to Canada, the Ministry of External Affairs in a statement underlined that the Trudeau government's actions in an environment of extremism and violence put the safety of diplomats at risk.
“We have no confidence in the current Canadian government's commitment to ensuring their security. Therefore, the Government of India has decided to recall the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials,” the statement said.
Also read: 'Leave Delhi by October 19', India's ultimatum to Canadian diplomats amid Nijjar controversy
