India expels 6 Canadian diplomats, hours after recalling its high commissioner to Ottawa

The Indian government has ordered six Canadian diplomats to leave the country, according to a circular issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday (Oct 14) evening.  Charge d’Affaires, Stewart Wheeler, is among the six officials asked to leave India by or before 11:59 pm local time on Saturday (Oct 19). 

Following is the list of six Canadian diplomats expelled:

1. Stewart Ross Wheeler, Acting High Commissioner
2. Patrick Hebert, Deputy High Commissioner
3. Marie Catherine Joly, First Secretary
4. lan Ross David Trites, First Secretary  
5. Adam James Chuipka, First Secretary
6. Paula Orjuela, First Secretary

The development comes hours after the Narendra Modi administration withdrew its High Commissioner, Sanjay Verma, and other targeted officials from Canada as Ottawa linked them to the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

New Delhi said it had lost all faith in the liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that has actively tried to butcher the diplomatic ties. 

“We have no faith in the current Canadian Government’s commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the Government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials,” read a statement by the ministry.  

Notably, Wheeler was summoned by the MEA earlier in the day, where he was given a dressing down on the allegations levelled by Ottawa. 

Secretary (East) conveyed to the Canadian representative that such baseless accusations and actions are entirely unacceptable.

“The Canadian Charge d’Affaires was summoned by Secretary (East) this evening. He was informed that the baseless targeting of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable,” MEA said in an official statement.

During the meeting, it was pointed out that the “current atmosphere of extremism and violence” poses a serious threat to the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada.

“It was underlined that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau Government’s actions endangered their safety. We have no faith in the current Canadian Government’s commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the Government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials,” the statement added.

It was also made clear that India reserves the right to take additional measures in response to what it perceives as the Trudeau government’s “tacit support for extremism, violence, and separatism directed against India”.

Quizzed about the decision by the Indian government, Wheeler iterated that the Trudeau government had provided enough evidence related to the case. 

“Canada has provided irrefutable evidence of ties between agents of the government of India and murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), in a press conference, blamed India for the violent criminal activity occurring in Canada. 

“Investigations have revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official positions to engage in clandestine activities, such as collecting information for the Government of India, either directly or through their proxies; and other individuals who acted voluntarily or through coercion,” the RCMP said. 

New Delhi has maintained that Ottawa is yet to provide any evidence linking it to the death of Nijjar. It accused the Canadian Government of running a smear campaign under the guise of an investigation.

(With inputs from agencies)