India on Thursday accused Canada of double standard after Canadian police charged two persons with plotting to kill Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, flagging Ottawa’s difference in response to similar threats to Indian leaders and diplomats.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had on Monday charged two men in Alberta for threatening Trudeau, deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh.

External affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “When a democracy adopts different yardsticks to measure or implement the rule of law and freedom of expression, it only exposes its own double standard.

“We expect Canada to take action against anti-India elements who have repeatedly threatened Indian leaders, institutions, airlines and diplomats by violence. We would like to see strong action, same level of action on threats against us,” he said.

Earlier this week, a BAPS Swaminarayan temple in the Canadian city of Edmonton had been vandalised with anti-India graffiti.

On the vandalisation, Jaiswal said India had taken up the matter with the Canadian authorities in Delhi and Ottawa.

“We expect the local authorities to take strong and swift action against those responsible. These attacks against temples (in Canada) have become a recurring occurrence and are done with a purpose which is not difficult to fathom…. Lack of action against the perpetrators has further emboldened such criminal elements.

“Those advocating and responsible for extremism and violence need to be brought to justice or else the rule of law and respect for pluralism in Canada will continue to be severely undermined,” he said.