OTTAWA, Canada — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that India had made “a terrible mistake” by thinking it could interfere as aggressively as it supposedly did in Canada’s sovereignty.
Trudeau made the mark two days after Canada kicked out six Indian diplomatslinking them to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada and alleging a broader effort to target Indian dissidents in the country.
The Canadian leader’s comments were the strongest he has made in a yearlong dispute that plunged bilateral relations to a new low.
“The Indian government made a terrible mistake in thinking that they could interfere as aggressively as they did in the security and sovereignty of Canada,” he told an independent inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian politics.
In response, India’s foreign ministry issued a third two-line statement, saying Trudeau’s deposition confirmed New Delhi’s stand that Canada had provided no evidence to support its allegations against Indian diplomats.
“The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behavior has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone,” the foreign ministry statement said.
Trudeau said Ottawa could take further steps to ensure Canadians’ security but declined to give details.
India denies the interference allegations and expels six Canadian diplomats in a tit-for-tat move.
