New Delhi:
India on Monday lodged a strong protest with Canada over the “threatening language” and “unacceptable imagery” targeting Indian leadership at a parade held in Toronto.
The floats at the parade on Sunday reportedly featured pro-Khalistan propaganda and imagery attacking the Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India lodged a protest with the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi over the parade, official sources said.
“We conveyed our concerns in the strongest terms to the Canadian High Commission regarding the parade held in Toronto, where unacceptable imagery and threatening language were used against our leadership and Indian citizens residing in Canada,” said one of the sources.
The Indian side again called on Canadian authorities to act against “anti-India elements” who are spreading hatred and advocating extremism and a separatist agenda, the sources said.
“We once again call on the Canadian authorities to act against anti-India elements who spread hatred and advocate extremism and separatist agenda,” the source said.
The latest episode of strain in ties between the two countries came days after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s victory in the general election.
Carney, an economist and political newcomer, led the Liberal Party to its remarkable victory in the elections held under the shadow of US President Donald Trump’s tariff clash.
His victory was seen as an opportunity to repair India-Canada ties that came under severe strain during Justin Trudeau’s prime ministership.
The ties between India and Canada witnessed a major downturn following Trudeau’s allegations in September 2023 of the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. New Delhi strongly rejected Trudeau’s charges as “absurd”.
The relations nosedived further in the second half of last year after Ottawa linked several Indian diplomats including High Commissioner Sanjay Verma to the murder of Nijjar.
In October last, India withdrew Verma and five other diplomats. India also expelled an equal number of Canadian diplomats from New Delhi.
In the last few months, the security officials of India and Canada resumed contacts and both sides were looking at the possibility of appointing new high commissioners.
The exit of Trudeau was seen as an opportunity to improve bilateral ties.
India had accused Trudeau’s government of allowing pro-Khalistani elements to operate from Canadian soil.
After Trudeau’s exit, New Delhi said it hoped to rebuild ties with Canada based on “mutual trust and sensitivity”.
“The downturn in India-Canada relations was caused by the licence that was given to the extremist and secessionist elements in that country,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said in March.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
