India on Sunday defended its move to invoke the provision of parity in Canada's diplomatic presence in the country, saying there was ‘continuous interference’ in New Delhi’s internal affairs.
Canada has already withdrawn 41 diplomats from India.
"Parity is very much provided for by the Vienna Convention, which is the relevant international rule on this. In our case, we invoked parity because we had concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel," External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said at an event in Delhi.
The minister said India is likely to resume issuance of visas to Canadians if it sees progress in the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada.
The relations between India and Canada had hit a new low after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's alleged "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.
India reacted sharply, urging Canada to produce evidence to buttress its claim. The ensuing bilateral tension saw New Delhi suspending issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and asking Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country.
Jaishankar admitted that the relationship between the two countries was going through a difficult phase.
“But I do want to say the problems we have with a certain segment of Canadian politics and the policies which flow from that," said the minister.
On Thursday, while announcing the return of the diplomats, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly described India's move as a violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.
