Canada Refutes Allegations Linking PM Modi, S Jaishankar, and Ajit Doval to Criminal Activities
Canada refutes allegations linking PM Modi, S Jaishankar, and NSA Doval to criminal activities, calling them speculative. India dismisses claims as baseless.
Canada Denies Speculative Claims Linking PM Modi, S Jaishankar, and NSA Doval to Criminal Activities Amid Strained Diplomatic Tensions with India
On Friday, the Canadian government issued a strong denial regarding any connection between Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, to criminal activities in Canada. The statement from the National Security and Intelligence Advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Nathalie G. Drouin, made clear that the Canadian government never made nor is aware of any evidence linking these high-ranking officials to criminal activities within the country.
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Drouin said in a statement that any claims of this sort are “speculative and inaccurate.” This was amid a report in the Globe and Mail newspaper that pointed towards a possible connection between the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist from India, with these Indian officials. It was on October 14 that the Canadian authorities took a historic step-though unprecedented by making public accusations about the serious criminal activities supposedly carried out by agents of the Indian government-with the growing public threat to safety.
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India’s Ministry of External Affairs, on November 20, responded promptly in total dismissal of the claims by Globe and Mail. The report was dismissed by MEA with a plea that it be “treated with the contempt it deserves.” In its reaction, the spokesperson for MEA, Randhir Jaiwal, said such reports only aggravate the already strained diplomatic relations between India and Canada, describing them as “smear campaigns” with no factual foundation.
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This incident has enhanced diplomatic tension between India and Canada. Because of the incidents taking place due to a perception of terrorism and anti-India activity being supported by certain groups in Canada, relations have severely soured. India had earlier rejected claims by Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, about “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the killing of Nijjar as “absurd” and “motivated”. To add to this, India has also accused Canada of harbouring extremist elements that it says pose a significant threat to Indian interests.
This diplomatic row took another turn when India recalled six of its diplomats from Canada after they were declared “persons of interest” in the probe into Nijjar’s killing. Nijjar, a Khalistani terrorist, was shot dead outside a Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18 of the previous year, that further flared up the already volatile relationship between the two nations.
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