Designate separatists as ultras, India tells Canada
New Delhi, November 3
Escalating its drive against separatists based overseas, India has called on the Canadian authorities to declare as terrorists individuals and entities who have been similarly designated by the Indian authorities. India has also called on Canada to stop the so-called referendums on a separate state of “Khalistan” as such exercises in the past had led to violence, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
He said Canada had been told to designate under its own laws individuals and entities declared terrorists by India. Though the Government of Canada had conveyed that it respected India’s sovereignty and would not recognise the “Khalistan referendum”, Bagchi said India had in the past stated that it was “deeply objectionable that politically motivated exercises by extremist elements are allowed to take place in a friendly country”.
He pointed out that the Canadian High Commission here and the Deputy Foreign Minister had also said that the so-called referendum would not be recognised. The government had served a demarche on Canada on October 9, asking it to stop the referendum on November 6 to be held in Ontario.
Though Indians are immigrating to Canada at a rate of over one lakh per year and the numbers are set to go up, ties between India and Canada have been rocky over the activities of separatists.
