New Delhi has rejected a Canadian minister’s “absurd and baseless” allegations regarding the involvement of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the targeting of Sikh separatist leaders in Canada. On Friday, the country’s foreign ministry summoned a Canadian diplomat and presented a note protesting the accusations.
This development comes just days after both countries announced the expulsion of each other’s diplomats, including high commissioners, following allegations by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government that Indian officials were linked to the murder of prominent Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in a Vancouver suburb. Khalistan supporters advocate for the establishment of a separate nation-state for Sikhs carved out of India’s Punjab state.
Last week, two senior officials from Trudeau’s government acknowledged leaking sensitive information to the Washington Post regarding the allegations against India. Testifying before a parliamentary panel on Tuesday, Trudeau’s National Security and Intelligence Adviser, Nathalie Drouin, and Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison confirmed they shared information with the journalist and identified Indian Home Minister Amit Shah as the person allegedly directing attacks against Khalistan supporters in Canada.
This information was leaked to the US newspaper as part of a “communication strategy” that Canadian officials developed to manage the escalating diplomatic row with India. Tensions have been mounting since September 2023, when Trudeau first publicly accused New Delhi of being involved in Nijjar’s assassination. Since then, India has consistently rejected these claims, insisting that Canada has never provided any evidence to support its allegations.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal asserted that the “revelation that high Canadian officials deliberately leak unfounded insinuations to the international media as part of a conscious strategy to discredit India and influence other nations only confirms the view that the government of India has long held about the current Canadian government’s political agenda and behavioral pattern.” “Such irresponsible actions will have serious consequences for bilateral ties,” Jaiswal added.
New Delhi has previously accused the Trudeau-led government of a “deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains.” The Sikh diaspora is a significant voting bloc in Canada, and radical supporters of the Khalistan movement represent a comparatively small but vocal faction within this community.
New Delhi condemned the surveillance of its consular officials in Canada, calling it a “flagrant violation of diplomatic conventions,” and said a formal protest has been lodged with Justin Trudeau’s government over the issue. “By citing technicalities, the Canadian government cannot justify engaging in harassment and intimidation. Our diplomatic and consular personnel are already operating in an environment of extremism and violence. This action by the Canadian government aggravates the situation and is incompatible with established diplomatic norms and practices,” the ministry’s spokesperson stated.