New Delhi, Nov 02, 2024, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, Nov 2: Amid ongoing diplomatic row, India on Saturday dubbed as "absurd and baseless" certain allegations made by a Canadian minister against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said such references will have serious consequences for bilateral ties.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal's remarks came after Canada's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison alleged on Tuesday that Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada.

New Delhi has protested these changes in the strongest possible terms, Jaiswal said, answering queries during a weekly press briefing here. Such irresponsible actions will have serious consequences for bilateral ties, he said.

India summoned a Canadian High Commission representative on Friday and the official was served a diplomatic note to lodge the protest in strongest terms on the "absurd and baseless" references made by the Canadian deputy minister about India's Union Home Minister.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said a year ago that Canada had credible evidence that agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023. However, dismissing the allegations as absurd, Indian government officials have consistently denied that Canada provided evidence.

Meanwhile, India accused Canada of indulging in "harassment and intimidation" of Indian consular staff there by putting them under audio and video surveillance in "flagrant violation" of diplomatic conventions. India has "formally protested" to the Canadian government, Jaiswal said when asked about reports claiming that many Indian diplomats in Canada were allegedly under surveillance amid the diplomatic standoff.

The relations between the two countries came under severe strain following Trudeau's allegations in September last year of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar's killing. New Delhi rejected Trudeau's charges as "absurd".

India has been maintaining that the main issue between the two countries is that of Canada giving space to pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil with impunity. India has expelled six Canadian diplomats and withdrawn its high commissioner Sanjay Verma and other "targeted" officials from Canada after strongly dismissing Ottawa's charges.