In October, the Canadian authorities provoked India by naming the Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma as a“person of interest” in their probe into Nijjar's killing. New Delhi retaliated by summoning Ottawa's Charge d'Affaires and lodging a strong protest, before withdrawing the Indian envoy and expelling six Canadian diplomats.

In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Modi said: “I strongly condemn the deliberate attack on a Hindu temple in Canada. Equally appalling are the cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats. Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve. We expect the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law.”

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his foreign minister condemned the attack on a Hindu temple in Canada this week amid a worsening in diplomatic tensions between the two countries.Modi, who has mostly refrained from commenting publicly about the India-Canada situation,