No violation, says India as 41 Canada diplomats leave

Latest in bilateral fallout India has said that its action to ensure parity is in line with the Vienna Convention

- Anirudh Bhattacharyya and Rezaul H Laskar

India on Friday asserted that its action to ensure parity in diplomatic presence with Canada is in line with the Vienna Convention, rejecting Ottawa's contention that the move for withdrawal of 41 Canadian diplomats amounted to a violation of international norms.

The Canadian government said late on Thursday that 41 diplomats and 42 dependents had left India a day before the deadline set by New Delhi for their withdrawal, failing which they would lose their diplomatic immunity. It also said that move would delay and "severely curtail" visa services for Indians.

Canada's foreign minister Melanie Joly said the "unilateral revocation" of diplomatic immunities was contrary to international law and a "clear violation" of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations -- a position also taken by the PM Justin Trudeau later on Friday. 

In Delhi on Friday, external affairs ministry rejected Joly's characterisation of the move for parity in diplomatic presence, which was put in motion after a diplomatic row erupted over Trudeau's allegation last month that Indian government agents were linked to the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey town in June. "We reject any attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms," the ministry said in a statement. Parity in diplomatic presence was warranted by the state of bilateral relations, the "much higher number" of Canadian diplomats in India and "their continued interference in our internal affairs", the ministry said.