India on Saturday said it summoned the Canadian high commission representative and lodged a strong protest over Ottawa’s allegations against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

"We had summoned the representative of the Canadian High Commission yesterday, a diplomatic note was handed over in reference to the proceedings of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security in Ottawa on October 29, 2024," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)  spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

India protested in the strongest possible terms the references made by a Canadian minister about Shah and said that such "absurd and baseless" allegations will have serious consequences for bilateral ties between the two countries, the MEA said on Saturday.

The comments came after Canada’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison on Tuesday alleged that Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada. Morrison had also told Canadian Parliament members of the national security committee that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which first reported the allegations.

Jaiswal said this revelation that high Canadian government officials deliberately leaked unfounded insinuations to international media as part of a conscious strategy to discredit India and influence other nations only confirms the view that the Indian government has long held about the current Canadian government’s political agenda and behavioural pattern.

Replying to queries during a weekly Press briefing, Jaiswal said such irresponsible actions will have serious consequences for bilateral ties.

He said India summoned a Canadian High Commission representative on Friday and the official was served a diplomatic note to lodge the protest in strongest terms on the "absurd and baseless" references made by the Canadian deputy minister about India’s Union Home Minister.

While addressing the Parliament members, Morrison did not say how Canada knew of Shah’s alleged involvement. The diplomatic relations between India and Canada deteriorated after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a year ago that Canada had credible evidence agents of the Indian government was involved in the murder of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023. Dismissing the allegations as absurd, Indian government officials have consistently denied that Canada provided evidence.

Last month, India recalled its high commissioner Sanjay Verma after the diplomat was named as ‘person of interest’ by Canada in its probe into Nijjar’s killing. New Delhi withdrew its high commissioner and expelled six Canadian diplomats from its soil.

Calling Canada’s behaviour “the pits”,  Verma in an interview last week said India was backstabbed and treated in a most unprofessional manner by a country that is supposed to be a friendly democracy. “A handful of supporters of Khalistan have turned the ideology into a criminal enterprise, which indulges in a range of activities such as gun-running and human trafficking and yet the Canadian authorities turn a blind eye because they comprise a vocal electoral bank for local politicians,” Verma said.

India also accused Canada of indulging in “harassment and intimidation” of Indian consular staff by putting them under audio and video surveillance in “flagrant violation” of diplomatic conventions. “Yes, some of our consular officials were recently informed by the Canadian government that they have been and continued to be under audio and video surveillance. Their communications have also been intercepted. We have formally protested to the Canadian government, as we deem these actions to be in flagrant violation of relevant diplomatic and consular conventions” Jaiswal mentioned during the briefing.

“By citing technicalities, the Canadian government cannot justify the fact that it is indulging in harassment and intimidation,” he alleged.