Dinesh Patnaik rejects RCMP and Trudeau’s allegations, raises security concerns in Canada amid India-Canada Khalistan tensions. Photo: X.
India’s newly appointed High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik, has categorically rejected allegations made by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that linked Indian diplomats to incidents of homicide and extortion in Canada, CTV News reported.
In an interview with CTV News, Patnaik expressed concern over the security environment in Canada.
“I find it strange that a high commissioner here has to be under protection,” he said. “I’m under protection. I should not be under protection in a country like this.”
He explained that discussions between India and Canada have recently shifted toward addressing “the entire security situation,” including the activities of Sikh separatist groups.
“What we are talking about now are the different security scenarios that is happening in this country,” Patnaik said. “Security scenarios where there is a group of people who are actually terrorizing, keeping the relationship under hostage. How do we deal with them? How do we deal with the law-and-order situation?”
India has consistently opposed the pro-Khalistan movement, which advocates for an independent Sikh state in India. New Delhi has often criticized Ottawa for not taking a stronger stance against Sikh separatist activities within Canada’s borders.
In 2023, Trudeau rejected these criticisms, stating, “They are wrong. Canada has always taken extremely seriously violence and threats of violence. We have always taken serious action against terrorism, and we always will.”
Amid these tensions, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand visited India earlier this week and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Following the meeting, both nations signed a joint statement identifying areas for future cooperation, including trade and artificial intelligence.
With inputs from ANI
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Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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