New Delhi:
India on Wednesday rejected a new Canadian media report on Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s death, terming it a “smear campaign” amid a diplomatic row between the two countries.
“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,” foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to media queries.
While the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) did not name the media outlet that carried the report, Canada’s The Globe and Mail recently claimed in an article that “Canadian security agencies believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India knew about Nijjar’s killing”.
The June 2023 death of Nijjar is at the centre of the diplomatic spat between India and Canada. While Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has accused India of killing Nijjar, it has failed to give any solid proof. India has pointed that out time and again while rejecting the allegations.
This is the first time that Canadian media dragged PM Modi into the contract, marking a significant development in the already-strained ties.
The report, which quoted a source it identified as a “senior national-security official who worked on the intelligence assessment”, said “Canadian and American intelligence tied the assassination operations to Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah”.
“Also in the loop, the official said, was Mr. Modi’s trusted national-security adviser Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar,” the article said.
While the report did not identify the official, it added that the source admitted that “Canada does not have direct evidence that Mr. Modi knew…”
This comes days after India, on November 2, expressed its disapproval towards remarks made in a Canadian parliamentary committee on October 29 regarding Amit Shah.
Canadian deputy foreign affairs minister David Morrison, while talking to the Canadian Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, had said that Khalistani extremists were targeted on orders of Shah. However, Morrison did not explain how Canada had verified this information.
Later, the MEA summoned a representative from the Canadian High Commission and presented a diplomatic note condemning the comments as “absurd and baseless”.
India-Canada Tensions
The report came amid deteriorating relations between India and Canada over last year’s assassination of India-designated Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, for which Ottawa alleged Indian involvement. India has rejected the allegations, calling them “preposterous”, and accused Trudeau of harbouring Khalistanis who are not only plotting against India but also attacking Hindus on Canadian soil.
Despite multiple Indian requests for evidence, Canada has failed to provide any proof of India’s involvement in Nijjar’s death but has continued to make allegations against New Delhi. India’s extradition requests to Canada to return individuals wanted for terrorism, murder and human trafficking have also fallen to deaf ears.
Of late, there has been an increase in incidents involving attacks on Hindu devotees in Canada’s temples, and a recent attack on a Hindu temple in Brampton prompted a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has condemned the “deliberate attack”.
Indian intelligence and government agencies, meanwhile, are of the view that Trudeau is backing Khalistani groups to ensure MP Jagmeet Singh’s support in next year’s election, giving the Liberal Party’s rapid decline in popularity as polls show it would lose badly to the opposition Conservative Party.
