No evidence to back allegations: MEA reacts to Canada PM’s remarks on Nijjar killing

New Delhi: India on Thursday said the current diplomatic row with Canada has been precipitated by the Trudeau government's "baseless" allegations, and reiterated that "no evidence" has been shared in support of Ottawa's serious allegations against New Delhi.

At his weekly briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's own admission during a public inquiry tells the value of allegations levelled against India.

Testifying before the public inquiry into foreign interference in federal electoral processes and democratic institutions, Trudeau on Wednesday acknowledged that he had only intelligence and no "hard evidentiary proof" when he alleged the involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year.

The MEA early on Thursday reacted to this and said what it has heard only "confirms" New Delhi's consistent stand that Canada has "presented us no evidence" in support of the serious allegations Ottawa chose to level against India and Indian diplomats.

During the briefing, Jaiswal reiterated that so far no evidence has been shared by Canada.

"The current crisis (in India-Canada relationship) has been precipitated by the Trudeau government's baseless allegations," he said.

In response to another query, Jaiswal said there are 26 extradition requests from India pending with the Canadian side for a decade or so.