NEW DELHI: India on Thursday mentioned it’s going to push forward with a proposal for parity in diplomatic presence with Canada amid a row over the killing of Khalistani chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar, even because it dismissed Ottawa’s competition that the transfer will not be according to the Vienna Convention.

The Indian aspect sought parity in diplomatic presence quickly after Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged Indian authorities brokers have been linked to the killing of Khalistani chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar, designated a terrorist by New Delhi, in Surrey city in June. India has dismissed the accusation as “absurd” and each side expelled one senior diplomat every quickly after the row erupted.

Media stories citing unnamed Canadian officers mentioned India has sought the withdrawal of 41 out of 62 Canadian diplomats posted within the nation by October 10. The Indian aspect has not confirmed these figures.

“Let me stress that we remain committed to what we said – that is, ensuring parity in our diplomatic presence. We remain engaged with Canadian authorities on the modalities of achieving that,” exterior affairs ministry Arindam Bagchi instructed a daily media briefing.

“From our part, I can assure you that everything India is doing is in compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” he mentioned.

Bagchi didn’t deny a report within the Financial Times a couple of “secret meeting” between exterior affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Canadian counterpart Mélanie Joly in Washington. “We have been in touch with the Canadians at various levels. Regarding any specific interaction, I don’t have any particular information to share.”

The Financial Times on Wednesday cited an unnamed Canadian official as saying that Ottawa hasn’t withdrawn any diplomats from New Delhi earlier than the deadline of October 10. The report added that India has cited the Vienna Convention to justify its name for parity, however this argument was rejected by Canada.

Canada has extra diplomats in its missions in Indian cities than India has in Canada as a result of it operates a bigger visa processing operation that primarily caters to kin of the roughly 1.6 million Canadians of Indian origin.

When Bagchi was requested about Trudeau elevating Nijjar’s killing, within the context of the rule of regulation, throughout conversations with world leaders on the assaults in Israel, he replied: “I don’t know how this helps address the core issue.”

The core difficulty is the “space given by Canada to terrorists and criminal elements”. Bagchi added, “As regards upholding international conventions in conversations, we would urge Canada to take more seriously their international obligations to provide security to our diplomats and their premises.”