“Speculative, Inaccurate”: Canada Factchecks Own Media Over India Charges

The Justin Trudeau-led Canadian government on Friday denied a report linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to criminal activities in Canada, saying it is “speculative and inaccurate”.

National security and intelligence advisor to Justin Trudeau, Nathalie G Drouin, in a statement, said that the Canadian government is “not aware” of any evidence of the claims made by a Canadian media house citing unnamed officials.

“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 the evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, or NSA Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada,” the statement read.

On Thursday, a report by Canada’s ‘Globe and Mail’ newspaper quoted unnamed Canadian officials claiming that PM Modi was “aware” of the plot to kill Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – who was killed in Vancouver last year. The report also claimed that the Indian national security advisor and the external affairs minister were also in the loop of the plot.

India responded sharply to these claims immediately with External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal calling the report a “smear campaign”. 

“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,” Mr Jaiswal said.