Amid the growing diplomatic crisis between India and Canada, Foreign Minister Vikram Misri will brief the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs on various aspects of New Delhi’s relations with Ottawa on November 6.

Misri will also brief the panel on India’s ties with China on the same day.

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“Briefing by the Minister of Foreign Affairs on matters relating to India’s foreign relations – India-Canada and India-China,” the meeting notice said.

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The panel is headed by Congress lawmaker and former foreign minister Shashi Tharoor. According to two officials, this would be the first exclusive briefing on India-Canada relations in the recent past. The issue assumes importance in the context of the deterioration of bilateral relations between New Delhi and Ottawa on a multitude of issues which have triggered a real crisis between the two G20 member countries.

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India on Saturday categorically rejected as “absurd and baseless” a senior Canadian official’s allegation that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was linked to activities targeting pro-elements. Khalistan on Canadian soil and argued that such actions would have “serious consequences” for bilateral relations.

New Delhi has already withdrawn its envoy to Canada and five other diplomats after Canadian authorities wanted to question them as “persons of interest” in the investigation into the murder of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. On the other hand, six Canadian diplomats, including the deputy high commissioner, were expelled from New Delhi.

The diplomatic row erupted after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of being involved in the killing of Nijjar on Canadian soil in September 2023. Nijjar, designated a terrorist by India in 2020, was shot dead by masked gunmen outside a gurdwara in British Columbia on June 18, 2023. Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) alleged that Indian diplomats were targeting Sikh separatists in Canada and passing information to organized crime groups.

The external affairs panel includes vocal opposition members including Deepender Hooda and Pratini Shinde of the Congress, John Brittas of the CPI-M, Sagarika Ghosh of Trinamool, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi and Arvind Sawant of Shiv Sena (UBT).

A senior opposition leader told HT: “We want to go into detail on the issues and would also like to know what will happen in the future of our ties with Canada and if there is any possible impact on our relations with the United States. »

Another leader said the opposition is likely to throw its weight behind the government, as is the case in matters of foreign relations, but can ask “a few questions of Misri.”

Meanwhile, former diplomats have criticized the Trudeau government for placing Indian diplomats under surveillance. Yash Sinha, a former diplomat told ANI: “On October 29, at the standing committee on public security and national security, they actually leaked this information to the Washington Post and they even named a very senior minister in the Indian cabinet …this kind of behavior contravenes all diplomatic norms…this Canadian government is sheltering terrorists…”

Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu maintained that “Canada has replaced Pakistan. India, and especially Punjab, had great esteem and affection for Canada…Those who lived in Pakistan moved to Canada because they receive good funding in the name of gurdwaras…The India does not back down from threats. We now give an appropriate response…”

Officials said Misri is also expected to deliberate on recent progress in India-China relations.

On Sunday, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said in Brisbane: “As far as India and China are concerned, we have made some progress. Our relationships were very disturbed. We have made some progress in what we call disengagement… The fact is that a lot of the Chinese troops deployed along the Line of Actual Control were not there before 2020, and we had counter-deployed.

“We have to see after the disengagement what direction we will take. We believe disengagement is a welcome step. This opens the possibility that further steps could take place. After Prime Minister Modi met President Xi, we expected the National Security Advisor and I to meet our counterparts. That’s really where things are,” he added.