New Delhi, India

India's main opposition party the Indian National Congress has urged the nation's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take all political parties into confidence on the "extremely sensitive and delicate issue" of worsening India-Canada ties.

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This comes as India announced the expulsion of six Canadian diplomats, just hours after recalling the Indian high commissioner and other diplomats from Canada.

Also read | India expels 6 Canadian diplomats, hours after recalling its high commissioner to Ottawa

Sensitive issue

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In a post on X, Congress party spokesperson Jairam Ramesh on Monday (Oct 14) said, "The Indian National Congress certainly hopes and expects that Prime Minister @narendramodi will take the leader of Opposition in both Houses of Parliament, and the leaders of other political parties into confidence immediately on the extremely sensitive and delicate issue of worsening India-Canada relations."

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In India's lower house, the Lok Sabha, INC's Rahul Gandhi is the Leader of Opposition while in the upper house Rajya Sabha, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is the LoP.

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Also read | India condemns Trudeau's unfounded allegations in Nijjar murder case, calls for concrete proof

Meanwhile, Sagarika Ghose, a lawmaker of the opposition political party, the Trinamool Congress party, said in a post on X that "India's foreign policy has always been based on building domestic consensus, not on unilateralism."

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India-Canada worsening ties

The relations between India and Canada suffered severe strain after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations about India's "potential" involvement in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

While Trudeau claims that his government had "clear and compelling evidence that agents of the government of India have engaged in, and continue to engage in, activities that pose a significant threat to public safety," New Delhi denies the allegations.

On Monday, India dismissed Canada's accusations and accused Trudeau of pursuing a "political agenda" and has called for concrete proof.

The Modi administration asserts that the Canadian PM is attempting to leverage anti-India, pro-Khalistani sentiment for political gains ahead of his appearance before the public inquiry into foreign interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions on October 16.

Despite Trudeau's claims in Parliament that India was involved in Nijjar's death — which happened on Sept 18, 2023 — no evidence has been produced to back this up. The RCMP is still investigating the case and has arrested four Sikh individuals for the murder in what appears to involve gang-related violence. India insists it has nothing to hide, and that it is expecting the Trudeau government to justify its accusations.  

(With inputs from agencies)