Indian Opposition slams Trudeau’s ‘hypocrisy’ after admission on Nijjar killing

Indian Opposition leaders have slammed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over his big admission that the Ottawa government did not have proof but only intelligence inputs against India on the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, further escalating the ongoing diplomatic row between the two nations.
While Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed called Trudeau a “joke”, Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale said the Canadian leader’s “sheer hypocrisy” was astonishing.
On her part, Mohamed tweeted, “A world leader makes accusations based on intelligence inputs without any shred of evidence! He is a joke.”
Saket Gokhale not only condemned Trudeau, but also called out the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence alliance comprising the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, for backing Ottawa’s allegations against India.
“The sheer hypocrisy of Canada’s PM Trudeau & his ‘Five Eyes’ allies is astonishing,” the MP said.
While the US claimed that India was not cooperating with Canada over the latter probe on the Nijjar murder, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the “alleged criminal conduct outlined publicly by Canadian law enforcement authorities, if proven, would be very concerning”.
The UK has also backed Canada’s claims against India’s alleged involvement in promoting criminal activities on Canadian soil.
In his tweet, Gokhale said that “these same countries, however, have willfully supported and backed Israel’s incursion into the sovereign territory of Lebanon to carry out killings of civilians”.
“Israel entering Lebanon is ‘anti terrorism’ & ‘self defence’.But while Hezbollah are terrorists for Canada, the US, & UK, people like Nijjar are termed as ‘activists’… To hold Israel’s enemies as terrorists but India’s enemies as ‘activists’ is a purely shameless example of double standards.
Meanwhile, senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi questioned if there was pressure from the Khalistani community over Trudeau making such remarks against India.
In a tweet in Hindi, Singhvi said that “fear was spreading among Canadian sycophants” and suggested that it might be due to the general elections next year.
The Opposition condemnation of Trudeau comes amid the ongoing India-Canada diplomatic row, which saw diplomats being kicked out in tit-for-tat moves, the latest in a year-long dispute that has plunged bilateral relations to a new low.
Trudeau has accused India of attacking Canada and “undermining the integrity of our democracy” in connection to Nijjar’s murder outside a gurdwara in British Columbia last year.