Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has again raised the issue of the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year and said that his government stood up to defend the rights and freedoms of all Canadians.

Trudeau, who was testifying at a high-profile public inquiry looking into foreign interference in Canada’s electoral process on Wednesday, also alleged that the previous government was “cosy” with the Indian government.

“The principle that anyone who comes to Canada from anywhere in the world has all the rights of a Canadian to be free from extortion, coercion, interference from a country that they left behind.” Trudeau said. “We have stood up for Canadians, including in the very serious case that I brought forward to Parliament of the killing of Nijjar, demonstrates our government’s commitment to defending the rights and freedoms of Canadians for which so many people crossed oceans and continents,” he added.

“The suggestion that we haven’t and we won’t do everything we can to defend Canadian rules and values and defend Canadians from foreign interference is simply misplaced,” the Canadian PM said. “I think that’s certainly a question one needs to ask of the previous Conservative government that was known for its very cosy relationship with the current Indian government,” Trudeau said.