Expelled Indian high commissioner denies involvement in murder of Sikh leader in Canada
Vancouver (AP/PTI): India's high commissioner to Canada has denied any involvement in the murder of a Canadian Sikh leader who was killed in British Columbia last year even though the Canadian government has named him as a person of interest in the assassination.
Sanjay Kumar Verma, who was expelled last Monday along with five other Indian diplomats, said in an interview on CTV's Question Period Sunday that the allegations are politically motivated.
"Nothing at all," Verma said when asked if he had any role in in the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar who was killed outside a cultural centre in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18, 2023. "No evidence presented. Politically motivated."
Four Indian nationals living in Canada were charged with Nijjar's murder and are awaiting trial.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police went public this week with allegations that Indian diplomats were targeting Sikh separatists in Canada by sharing information about them with their government back home. They said top Indian officials were then passing that information to Indian organized crime groups who were targeting the activists, who are Canadian citizens, with drive-by shootings, extortions and even murder.
Verma denied the Indian government was targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.
"I, as high commissioner of India, have never done anything of that kind,” he said.
Any action taken by Indian officials in Canada was “overt,” said Verma.
In the interview Verma condemned Nijjar's death.
"Any murder is wrong and bad," he said. "I do condemn."
Verma also pushed back on comments made by Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly that compared India to Russia. She said Canada's national police force has linked Indian diplomats to homicides, death threats and intimidation in Canada.
"Let me see the concrete evidence she's talking about," said Verma. "As far as I'm concerned, she's talking politically."
India has rejected the Canadian accusations as absurd, and its foreign ministry said it was expelling Canada's acting high commissioner and five other diplomats in response.
Verma said “not a shred of evidence has been shared with us” about the Canadian allegations.
The RCMP has said attempts earlier this month to share evidence with Indian officials were unsuccessful.
Verma said the RCMP had not applied for the proper visas to visit India.
“A visa needs to be affixed,” he said. “For any government delegation to travel to another country, you need an agenda to go by. There was no agenda at all."
Canada is not the only country that has accused Indian officials of plotting an assassination on foreign soil. The U.S. Justice Department announced criminal charges against an Indian government employee Thursday in connection with an alleged foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.
In the case announced by the Justice Department, Vikash Yadav, who authorities say directed the New York plot from India, faces murder-for-hire charges in a planned killing that prosecutors have previously said was meant to precede a string of other politically motivated murders in the United States and Canada.
“An indictment is not a conviction,” Verma said. “It will follow its judicial process.”
India has repeatedly criticized the Canadian government for being soft on supporters of what is known as the Khalistan movement, which is banned in India but has support among the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada.
The Khalistan movement supports the establishment of an independent Sikh state in India.
The Nijjar killing in Canada has soured India-Canada ties for more than a year, but Verma doesn't expect this will impact business relations between the two countries.
“I don't see much impact on non-political bilateral relations,” he said.
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Kerala Story 2 propaganda film aimed at polarisation: John Brittas
New Delhi (PTI): The Kerala Story 2 is a "propaganda" movie aimed at creating polarisation ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in the state, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas said, questioning if local BJP leaders would dare to demand a "beef ban".
The film, which has sparked a controversy with its promo showing a woman being forced to eat beef, has been challenged in court.
Brittas, a Rajya Sabha MP from the Left party, alleged that the upcoming film was part of a political attempt to polarise voters and malign Kerala ahead of elections, however, stating that he did not favour its ban.
"It's a propaganda movie. It should be put in the septic tank rather than viewed in the theatre," Brittas said.
"It is very obvious that the BJP wants to use such malicious propaganda to tarnish Kerala, to have a foothold in Kerala, to create communal polarisation here, and send a wrong picture about the state, which is the most peaceful and known for its communal amity and harmony," he told PTI.
The movie has also triggered widespread reactions on social media, with several posts talking about communal harmony in the state. Brittas said the makers of the movie did not have an understanding of the society in Kerala.
"The counter-narrative that's been drawn on social media is mind-boggling. If the producer or the director had an iota of shame, they would have abandoned this project... I feel that this is a diabolical game that's being played out by the BJP, just for electoral polarisation," he said.
Brittas also challenged the BJP leaders in Kerala to speak about a "beef ban".
"I am challenging, can a BJP leader profoundly make a statement in Kerala that beef should be banned? Can anybody say that beef should be banned in Kerala, even a BJP leader?" he said.
"Is it not a fact that most of these BJP leaders consume beef? This is part of your choice, whether you want to have beef, pork, mutton or chicken," he said.
Referring to judicial scrutiny in another film, Ghooskhor Pandat, Brittas cited observations made by the Supreme Court on titles and social sensitivity, and asked how authorities should respond when, in his view, "an entire state is maligned".
"When they put a title in an innocuous way, this was the response of the Supreme Court. Then how should the Supreme Court react after seeing Kerala Story 1 and 2?" Brittas asked.
He, however, said that they don't want a ban on the movie.
"Even when the earlier Kerala Story came, we did not ban it. It was screened and left (the theatres). Nobody went to see the movie," he said, adding, "Let people realise what this diabolical game being played by the BJP is."
The CPI(M) leader also cast doubt on claims about the commercial success of the earlier movie, suggesting that organised support and bulk ticket purchases could have contributed to its box office performance. He also took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recalling that the BJP had publicly praised the first film during its release.
"Can a movie for which the prime minister is the brand ambassador be seen as a flop? The BJP cadre have to buy the ticket, even if they don't watch it," Brittas said.
"The richest party would have given the money they got from electoral bonds, a portion of it," he said, targeting the BJP.
He also questioned the speed with which the movie reportedly secured certification, alleging inconsistencies in the way the Central Board of Film Certification treats films.
Brittas said in Kerala's plural social fabric, where multiple religions and cultures coexist, attempts made at communal division are unlikely to succeed.
He maintained that the state's voters were politically aware and would not be influenced by what he described as propaganda.
"They can try hard to malign Kerala, but the state will give a fitting reply," he said.
The Kerala Story, directed by Sudipto Sen and released in 2023, had claimed to depict the alleged radicalisation and trafficking of women from Kerala into extremist networks, a narrative strongly disputed by the Left Democratic Front government and opposition parties in the state, as well as several civil society groups.
The sequel, The Kerala Story 2, has again triggered debate even before the release, with promotional material and political reactions reviving arguments over representation, artistic freedom and the use of cinema in electoral narratives.
