Foreign ops not part of govt policy: EAM in US

New Delhi has told Canada that carrying out operations in another nation is not part of the policy of the government of India, but it will be open to looking at anything “specific and relevant” related to Canada’s allegations that Indian “agents” were linked to a killing in their country.

- Prashant Jha

 

In his first comments about the allegations made last week by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, external affairs minister S Jaishankar also stressed that there was a broader context to the issue — an increase in Canada in organised crime related to secessionism, extremism and violence; threats against Indian diplomats and violence against diplomatic premises; and India “badgering” Canada and giving it a lot of information about its “organised crime leadership” as well as terrorists.

In a conversation with former US ambassador to India Kenneth Juster, when asked if he had a response to Canada’s allegations, Jaishankar said, “Yes, I do have a comment. I will share with you very frankly what we told the Canadians. One, we told the Canadians that this is not government of India (GOI) policy. Two, we told the Canadians, if you have something specific, if you have something relevant, let us know. We are open to looking at it.”

But Jaishankar added that it was important to get a complete picture. “You have to appreciate that in the last few years, Canada actually has seen a lot of organised crime relating to secessionist forces. Organised crime, extremism, violence, they are all very, very deeply mixed up.”