Speculative, inaccurate: Canada rubbishes report linking PM Modi, EAM Jaishankar, NSA Doval to Nijjar killing
By Sunita Iyer | First Published Nov 22, 2024, 8:50 AM ISTThe Canadian government has firmly rejected allegations that PM Modi, EAM S. Jaishankar, and NSA Ajit Doval were involved in serious criminal activities within Canada, following a contentious report published by the Globe and Mail.
The Canadian government has firmly rejected allegations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were involved in serious criminal activities within Canada, following a contentious report published by the Globe and Mail.
Nathalie G. Drouin, the Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council and National Security and Intelligence Advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on Friday issued a statement reaffirming Canada's position.
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"On October 14th, because of a significant and ongoing threat to public safety, the RCMP and officials took the extraordinary step of making public accusations of serious criminal activity in Canada perpetrated by agents of the Government of India," the statement said.
Drouin stated that the Government of Canada had no evidence linking top Indian officials to any criminal activities on Canadian soil.
"The Government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, or NSA Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada. Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate," Drouin added.
The controversy stems from a Globe and Mail article, published on November 20, 2024, which cited a senior Canadian official claiming that Canadian security agencies believed PM Modi was aware of the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
The report further alleged that Jaishankar and Doval were involved in the assassination plot, which was supposedly linked to Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah. It claimed that Canadian and US intelligence tied the operations to Indian officials, raising the stakes in an already tense diplomatic standoff between Canada and India.
In response, India strongly rejected the report, labeling the claims as "ludicrous" and part of a "smear campaign." India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) condemned the allegations, asserting that such media reports only exacerbated the strained relations between the two nations.
“We do not normally comment on media reports. However, such ludicrous statements made to a newspaper purportedly by a Canadian government source should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve. Smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties,” MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Wednesday.
This latest dispute follows a diplomatic row that erupted in September 2023 when Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau accused India of being involved in Nijjar’s death. The Canadian government has yet to provide evidence to support these claims, which India has dismissed as "absurd" and "motivated."
The tensions reached a peak in October 2024 when Canada accused top Indian diplomats, including the High Commissioner, of being "persons of interest" in the Nijjar murder case. India responded by expelling six Canadian diplomats from New Delhi and recalling its own High Commissioner from Ottawa, further escalating the diplomatic crisis.
The MEA has repeatedly accused Canada of offering safe haven to individuals wanted by India on charges of terrorism. In November 2023, India claimed it had sought Canada’s assistance in extraditing or assisting in cases related to over 25 individuals, but said that its requests had largely been ignored.
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