Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
NEW YORK, 21st Sept. Canadian opposition leader Pierre Poilievre on Wednesday demanded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “come clean with facts” on his allegations of India’s role in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The Canadian Conservative party leader said that the Prime Minister Trudeau has just provided a statement and not facts supporting his allegations against New Delhi.
“I think the prime minister needs to come clean with all the facts. We need to know all the evidence possible so that Canadians can make judgments on that. The prime minister hasn’t provided any facts.
He provided a statement,” Poilievre said during a press briefing.
Trudeau told the Canadian Parliament that Canada was investigating “credible allegations” linking India to Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing in June this year.
India designated Nijjar a terrorist who was gunned down by two masked men in the parking area of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey.
The Canadian government expelled an Indian diplomat identified as Pawan Kumar Rai over the killings.
India expelled Canadian intelligence services India state chief in retaliation and asked him to leave in five days.
The diplomatic row over the murder of the Sikh separatist leader has deteriorated the strained bilateral relations between Canada and India.
According to a report published in US media, Canadian officials discussed the issue of Nijjar killing with the US and the UK a week before Trudeau made his allegations against New Delhi public.
He wanted his NATO allies to publicly condemn the killings before the G20 Summit.
US authorities were reluctant and overlooked Canada’s request to corner New Delhi.
In 2018, the British government had accused Russia of carrying out a nerve agent attack on British soil. In response, the US, Canada and several other European countries expelled their Russian diplomats.
In case of Nijjar’s killing for the fact that New Delhi has denied the Canadian claims and Trudeau made his allegations public even without completing an investigation.
