FOG BLOG CANADA LOG: TRUDEAU'S COMMENTS ON INDIA PROMPTS INDIA TO EXPEL CANADA'S DIPLOMAT!

Trudeau stands by allegation as India denies link to killing of Canadian Sikh leader Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is standing by Canadian intelligence indicating India played a role in the death of a Canadian citizen despite New Delhi calling the claim "absurd," and is calling on the country to take the matter "seriously."

"India and the government of India needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are doing that. We are not looking to provoke or escalate. We are simply laying out the facts as we understand them," Trudeau said Tuesday.

"For Canada, as I said yesterday, we’re going to remain calm. We’re going to remain grounded in our democratic principles and values, and we’re going to follow the evidence and make sure that the work is done to hold people to account."

The prime minister would not comment on whether India is co-operating, saying the Indian government "will be able to speak for itself." On Monday afternoon, Trudeau told the House of Commons in a rare statement on a matter of national security that Canadian intelligence agencies were investigating "credible allegations" that agents of the Indian government were involved in the June death of prominent Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in B.C.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly then announced Canada had expelled a "key Indian diplomat," Pavan Kumar Rai, who is listed as the head of Canadian operations for the Research and Analysis Wing, India's foreign intelligence agency.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government hit back early Tuesday, denying any involvement in any act of violence on Canadian soil and announcing it would be reciprocally expelling a senior Canadian diplomat out of concern for interference in internal affairs.

The High Commissioner of Canada to India was summoned and informed about the expulsion, and the need for the unnamed diplomat to leave the country within five days, India said.

"Allegations of Government of India's involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated. Similar allegations were made by the Canadian prime minister to our prime minister, and were completely rejected," said India's Ministry of External Affairs in a statement.

"Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The inaction of the Canadian Government on this matter has been a long-standing and continuing concern,"

"We urge the Government of Canada to take prompt and effective legal action against all anti-India elements operating from their soil."