Ottawa: A day after India raised a strong stance against a recent claim in a Canadian media report that said Prime Minister Narendra Modi knew about a plot to kill Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Canadian government has now rejected the report. The report, published by The Globe and Mail, cited an unnamed Canadian official.
Reacting to the Canadian media report, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau-led government clarified that the media report did not represent the administration's stance and dubbed it as "speculative and inaccurate". The report alleged PM Modi, EAM S Jaishankar and the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were aware of the alleged plot to kill Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian national and Khalistani terrorist last year.
"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," said the Canadian government.
"The Government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of the evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, Jaishankar, or Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada. Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate," added the Trudeau government.
India rejects Canadian media report
Earlier this week, India strongly rejected the media report and called the report "ludicrous" and urged people to ignore it. MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said such allegations only harm the already tense relationship between the two countries. "We do not usually comment on media reports, but these false claims should be dismissed," Jaiswal said. "Smear campaigns like this make things worse," he added.
The killing of Nijjar, a key figure in the Khalistan movement, happened in June 2023 in British Columbia, Canada. This has caused major tensions between India and Canada. After Nijjar's murder, Canadian authorities accused India of being involved, leading to the expulsion of Indian diplomats. In return, India expelled Canadian diplomats.
India-Canada tensions
Tensions escalated in September 2024 when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada had "credible evidence" that the Indian government was linked to Nijjar's murder. This led to more expulsions of diplomats from both countries.
Canada's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, David Morrison, also claimed that Home Minister Amit Shah has ordered a campaign against Sikh Separatists in Canada. He mentioned this during a parliamentary session but did not explain how Canada knew of Shah's involvement.
India rejected these claims, calling them "baseless and absurd". Jaiswal said these allegations were false, and India formally protested to Canada. India has accused Canada of allowing Sikh separatist groups to operate freely and of not cooperating in extraditing people India considers terrorists.
45-year-old Nijjar was shot in his pickup truck in Surrey, British Columbia. An Indian-born citizen of Canada, Nijjar owned a plumbing business and was a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland.
(With inputs from agency)
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