New Delhi: Canada has stated that it is “not aware” of any evidence linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar or national security adviser Ajit Doval to “serious criminal activity” on its soil – but home minister Amit Shah was conspicuously absent from its statement.
Earlier this week, The Globe and Mail reported that Canadian security agencies believed the Indian prime minister was aware of the violent plots to target Khalistani separatists and alleged that Jaishankar and Doval were also “in the loop”, along with Shah.
The newspaper also referenced a statement from the Privy Council Office in its November 20 article, clarifying that while the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) accused Indian government agents of involvement in serious criminal activity in Canada, there “have been no allegations made by the Government of Canada against Prime Minister Modi, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, or National Security Advisor Doval.”
Two days later, the Canadian Privy Council issued a similar statement.
“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 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,” stated Nathalie G. Drouin, deputy clerk of the Privy Council and national security and intelligence adviser to the prime minister.
While echoing the earlier statement to The Globe and Mail, the Privy Council’s note went further, adding: “Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate.”
The latest official communique also was issued after India dismissed the Canadian media report as “ludicrous” and a “smear campaign”, warning that such allegations would only deepen the tension in bilateral ties.
“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,” said external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a statement on Wednesday night, adding that “campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties.”
Similar to the statement provided to the newspaper, the latest release from the Privy Council’s Office conspicuously omitted any mention of Shah. This is not surprising as Canadian deputy foreign minister David Morrison told a parliamentary panel last month that he had confirmed to a US newspaper that the Indian home minister was “involved” in the plot to kill Canadian nationals.
The diplomatic standoff between India and Canada intensified in October, with both countries expelling six diplomats each, including their respective top envoys.
On October 14, the Washington Post cited Canadian officials as claiming they had informed the Indian government that “conversations and texts among Indian diplomats” expelled that day “include[d] references” to Shah and a senior official in the Research and Analysis Wing, “who have authorised … intelligence-gathering missions and attacks on Sikh separatists” in Canada.
India responded by summoning Canada’s acting deputy high commissioner, Geoffrey Dean, and presenting a diplomatic note condemning Morrison’s remarks as “absurd” and “baseless.”
At a press briefing, the external affairs ministry spokesperson stated, “It was conveyed in the note that the government of India protests in the strongest terms to the absurd and baseless references made to the Union home minister of India before the committee by deputy minister David Morrison.”
