NEW DELHI – India’s ambassador to Canada and other Indian diplomats are “persons of interest” in a matter linked to a Canadian investigation, India’s foreign ministry said in a statement Monday, citing a diplomatic communication of the country.

New Delhi rejected the “absurd imputations” of the Canadian claim, saying it was part of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “political agenda” centered on “vote bank politics”.

Relations between New Delhi and Ottawa have been frosty since September 2023, when Trudeau said Canada had credible evidence linking Indian agents to the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil earlier that year, provoking a strong reaction from New Delhi, which denied the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil earlier that year. allegation.

India has repeatedly said Canada has not provided any evidence to support its claims.

In its statement, the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it received the latest diplomatic communication from Canada on Sunday.

“This latest step follows interactions that once again saw assertions without any facts. This leaves no doubt that, under the pretext of investigation, there is a deliberate strategy to defame the India for political purposes.”

He added that India “now reserves the right to take further action in response to these latest efforts by the Canadian government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats.”

Canada withdrew more than 40 diplomats from India in October 2023 after New Delhi asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence.

Earlier this year, Trudeau said he hoped India would “engage with us so that we can get to the bottom of this very serious matter.”

Shortly after Canada’s allegations, the United States also claimed that Indian agents were involved in an attempted assassination of another Sikh separatist leader in New York in 2023, and charged an Indian national. REUTERS