Ottawa/New Delhi/IBNS: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has admitted that he had no "hard evidentiary proof' to back the allegations he levelled against India surrounding the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, prompting New Delhi to claim vindication.

Trudeau on Wednesday said he had no "hard evidentiary proof" to back his claims that India government officials were involved in Nijjar's killing.

The Canadian Prime Minister said, "I was briefed on the fact that there was intelligence from Canada, and possibly from Five Eyes allies that made it fairly clear, incredibly clear, that India was involved in this... Agents of the government of India were involved in the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil."

Responding to Trudeau's admission, India's Ministry of External Affairs said the Canadian Prime Minister's statement clears New Delhi was right in the whole row.

India has also solely blamed Trudeau for causing the damage to the ties between the two countries.

The MEA issued a statement which reads, "What we have heard today only confirms what we have been saying consistently all along - Canada has presented us with no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations that it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats.

"The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone."

India and Canada engage in retaliatory diplomatic expulsions

India on Monday expelled six Canadian diplomats and asked them to leave the country by Saturday after Ottawa said it was investigating the Indian ambassador and other diplomats as "persons of interest" in connection with the killing of a Sikh separatist leader last year, official sources said.

In a tit-for-tat move, Canada too asked six Indian diplomats to leave the country alleging that its police reportedly got hold of evidence that they claimed to be a part of an Indian government "campaign of violence".

On Monday evening, the Indian government decided to withdraw its High Commissioner in Canada after Ottawa's fresh accusations against the Indian envoy and other diplomats in connection with a murder investigation which the Modi government called an act of "vote bank politics".

"We have no faith in the current Canadian Government's commitment to ensure their security," the government conveyed to the Canadian Charge d'Affaires, who it summoned this evening.

"It was underlined that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau Government's actions endangered their safety. We have no faith in the current Canadian Government's commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the Government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials," the foreign ministry said.

India responded sharply after Canada called the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats "persons of interest" in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

In a long statement, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, "We have received a diplomatic communication from Canada yesterday suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are ‘persons of interest’ in a matter related to an investigation in that country. The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centered around vote bank politics.

"Since Prime Minister Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023, the Canadian Government has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests from our side. This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains."