Justifying India’s move to pressure Canada to downsize its diplomatic presence in New Delhi, EAM S Jaishankar on Sunday said there was interference by Canadian personnel in the country’s internal affairs adding that India does not approve of certain segments of Canadian politics.
“Parity is very much provided for by the Vienna Convention, which is the relevant international rule on this. In our case, we invoked parity because we had concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel,” Jaishankar said.
The External Affairs Minister also said that the India-Canada relations are “going through a difficult phase.”
#WATCH | On Canadian diplomatic presence in India, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, "There's this whole issue of parity that the size of how many diplomats there are of one country versus how many diplomats there are of the other country. Parity is very much provided for by the Vienna… pic.twitter.com/xJmk80GHHS— ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2023
This comes after Canada announced that 41 of its diplomats in India have departed, a day before the deadline set by New Delhi for their withdrawal, failing which they were liable to lose diplomatic immunity.
Later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the Indian government’s crackdown on Canadian diplomats was making normal life difficult for millions of people in both countries.
Jaishankar on India Resuming Issuance of Visas to Canadians
The external affairs minister also said that India is likely to resume the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens if it sees progress in the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada.
“If we see progress in the safety of our diplomats in Canada, we would like to resume issuance of visas there,” Jaishankar said at an event while replying to a question on India-Canada ties.
Meanwhile, government sources told News18 that New Delhi reviewing the security situation that led to the suspension of visa services in Canada.
India in September announced the temporary suspension of the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country after Trudeau alleged a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
US-UK Back Canada on Diplomat’s Exit Issue
The United States and the UK on Friday urged India not to insist Canada reduce its diplomatic presence in India and expressed concern after Ottawa pulled out 41 diplomats amid a dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist.
We do not agree with the decisions taken by the Indian government that have resulted in several Canadian diplomats departing India, reads the FCDO statement.
‘Actions Consistent with Vienna Convention’: India on Diplomats Row
India responded strongly to these accusations saying, “The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa.”
India’s actions are fully consistent with Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a statement.
(With PTI inputs)
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