'Parity not violation of international norms': India hits back at Canada, says it upholds Vienna Convention

After Canada withdrew dozens of its diplomats from India and accused the nation of breaking norms of "diplomatic immunity," the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has hit back and rubbished all such claims.

All of this playedout as a total of 41 Canadian diplomats left India following the diplomatic row over Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing in Canada.

In a statement, MEA rejected "any attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms."

Add WION as a Preferred Source

This comes after Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly on Thursday (Oct 19) said “if we allow the norm of diplomatic immunity to be broken, no diplomats anywhere on the planet would be safe. So for this reason, we will not reciprocate.”

Over reducing the diplomatic presence of Canada in the country, India has already clarified that there must be a "parity" in Canadian diplomatic presence in India.New Delhi earlier ordered Ottawa to reduce its bloateddiplomatic presence in India to 21 from 62.

Also Read |Canadian visa services to face delays after New Delhi kicks out 41 diplomats

India, while demanding a reduction in the number of Canadian diplomats, also cautioned Ottawa that if this was not made sure, it would remove the diplomatic immunity for them.

"We have seen the Statement by the Government of Canada on October 19 regarding Canadian diplomatic presence in India. The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa," the Indian foreign ministry explained.

Also Read |Hardeep Nijjar row: Canada withdraws 41 diplomats from India after Delhi's warning over diplomatic immunity

MEA also stated that India has been engaged with the Canadian side in connection to this issue over the last month. It added that the discussions were held "to work out the details and modalities of its implementation."

"Our actions in implementing this parity are fully consistent with Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," MEA said. It quoted the article which read,"In the absence of specific agreement as to the size of the mission, the receiving State may require that the size of a mission be kept within limits considered by it to be reasonable and normal, having regard to circumstances and conditions in the receiving State and to the needs of the particular mission.”

Watch |Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder row intensifies: 41 Canada diplomats leave India in last 24 hours | WION

India-Canada ties have nosedived after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau accused India of behind the killing of Nijjar. India has since rejected all these allegations multiple times and sought evidence, something that Canada has failed to provide to this date. After Canada's sweeping allegations, MEA labeled them as simply absurd and baseless.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.