Amid the ongoing diplomatic standoff between the two countries, on Friday, India rejected Canada’s attempt to portray that the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations was violated in seeking diplomatic parity, as Canada withdrew 41 of its diplomats from here. Canada also issued a travel advisory for its citizens in India, asking them “to exercise a high degree of caution due to the threat of terrorist attacks throughout the country”.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that India’s decision to revoke the diplomatic immunity of 41 Canadian diplomats is a violation of the Vienna Convention and it should worry all countries in the world, hours after New Delhi rejected Ottawa’s attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms.

Speaking at a press conference in Brampton, Ontario, he said the Indian Government was making it “unbelievably difficult” for life as usual to continue for millions of people in India and in Canada following the decision. “And, they’re doing it by contravening a very basic principle of diplomacy...The government of India decided to unilaterally revoke the diplomatic immunity of 40 Canadian diplomats in India. This is a violation of the Vienna Convention. Governing diplomacy. This is them choosing to contravene a very fundamental principle of international law and diplomacy,” he said.

India’s sharp reaction came hours after Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly announced that the country had withdrawn 41 diplomats and their family members from India, following a threat to strip them of their diplomatic immunity by Friday.

“I can confirm that India has formally conveyed its plan to unilaterally remove diplomatic immunities for all but 21 Canadian diplomats and dependents in Delhi by tomorrow, October 20,” Joly said in Ottawa late on Thursday.

Brushing aside her contention, the External Affairs Ministry said in New Delhi: “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 parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa. We have been engaged with the Canadian side on this over the last month in order to work out the details and modalities of its implementation.”

The External Affairs Ministry added, “Our actions in implementing this parity are fully consistent with Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which states the following: “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.”

The Ministry said, “We reject any attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms.”

Tension flared between India and Canada last month following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. New Delhi rejected the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.

Earlier on Friday, Canada also paused all in-person services at the consulates in Mumbai, Chandigarh, and Bengaluru and urged its citizens in these three cities to exercise caution. All Canadians in India have been asked to contact the High Commission in New Delhi in case they need assistance.

The Canadian updated advisory added, “In the context of recent developments in Canada and India, there are calls for protests and some negative sentiment towards Canada in traditional media and on social media. Demonstrations, including anti-Canada protests, could occur and Canadians may be subjected to intimidation or harassment. In Delhi and the National Capital Region, you should keep a low profile with strangers, and not share your personal information with them.”

The advisory also said, “Exercise a high degree of caution in and around Bengaluru, Chandigarh, and Mumbai. Consular services in-person are temporarily unavailable in those cities or surrounding areas. Petty crime, such as pickpocketing and purse snatching, is common. Criminals may target foreigners, especially in major cities and tourist areas.”

The last few weeks saw both the countries expelling senior diplomats.

Last month, India advised its citizens living in Canada and those contemplating travelling there to exercise “utmost caution” given growing anti-India activities and “politically-condoned” hate crimes in the North American country.

As regards withdrawing its diplomats from India, Joly said in their “unreasonable” request for diplomatic parity, India would only allow 21 diplomats and their families to maintain their diplomatic status, putting the others at risk of having their protections stripped arbitrarily, leaving them vulnerable to reprisal or arrest.

“This means 41 Canadian diplomats and their 42 dependents were in danger of having immunity stripped on an arbitrary date, and this would put their personal safety at risk,” she said at a news conference in Ottawa.

“The safety of Canadians and of our diplomats is always my top concern. Given the implications of India’s actions on the safety of our diplomats, we have facilitated their safe departure from India,” Joly said. “This means that our diplomats and their families have now left.”

Last month, India asked Canada to downsize its diplomatic staff in the country, arguing that there should be parity in strength and rank equivalence in the mutual diplomatic presence. The size of Canadian diplomatic staff in India is larger than what New Delhi has in Canada.

Calling India’s action “contrary to international law and in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations”, Joly accused India of escalating the bilateral tensions, but Canada will not be reciprocating.

“There is a fundamental principle of diplomacy, and this is a two-way street. It only works if every country abides by the rules,” she said.

“A unilateral revocation of diplomatic privileges and immunities is contrary to international law,” Joly said.

“Threatening to do so is unreasonable and escalatory. If we allow the norm of diplomatic immunity to be broken, no diplomats anywhere … would be safe.” “So for this reason, we will not reciprocate,” she added.

 “Let me be clear, Canada will continue to defend international law, which applies to all nations and will continue to engage with India. Now more than ever, we need diplomats on the ground, and we need to talk to one another,” Joly said.

Joly announced the development “on the situation with India” alongside Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marc Miller, who announced the shrinking of Canada’s footprint to one-third of what it was, will impact the level of service delivery Canada will be able to provide in India.