'Ludicrous, smear campaign': India slams Canada media report claiming Modi, Jaishankar knew of Nijjar killing

India strongly dismissed a report in Canadian media that claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval were aware of an alleged plot to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Rubbishing the report by Canadian media outlet – The Globe and Mail, which quoted an unnamed Canadian official making the claims, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “… 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,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal further said.

What Canada’s The Globe & Mail report said

The Globe and Mail, on Wednesday released a news article, where it cited a senior Canadian security official as claiming, “Canadian security agencies believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India knew about the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia and other violent plots.”

The report mentioned that the national security official worked on the intelligence assessment of New Delhi’s foreign-interference operations in Canada.

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“Canadian and American intelligence tied the assassination operations to Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah. Also in the loop, the official said, was Modi’s trusted national-security adviser Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar,” the official was quoted as saying by the Canadian news outlet.

‘Canada has no direct evidence’

“While Canada does not have direct evidence that Modi knew, the official said the assessment is that it would be unthinkable that three senior political figures in India would not have discussed the targeted killings with Modi before proceeding,” The Globe and Mail claimed.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar assassination

Nijjar was shot and killed on June 18, 2023, outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia. The Canadian authorities have arrested and charged four Indian nationals for the murder.

Last year, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, without providing any “hard evidentiary proof”, publicly accused India of being allegedly involved in Nijjar’s killing.

New Delhi has strongly dismissed the claims made by Trudeau, calling them “absurd” and “motivated”.

India has also been constantly expressing serious concerns about extremism and anti-India activities in Canada and has been constantly urging the authorities in Ottawa to take action against.

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India-Canada diplomatic row

The diplomatic ties between India and Canada deteriorated to a new low in October this year after Ottawa accused Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma and other diplomats of involvement in the murder.

In its response, India expelled six Canadian diplomats and withdrew its envoy after Ottawa designated the Indian ambassador and other diplomats as “persons of interest” in the investigation into the killing of NIA-designated terrorist Nijjar.

Also, New Delhi expelled Canadian Charge d’Affaires Stewart Wheeler and five other diplomats following Canada’s allegations.

India had even condemned Canada’s actions as “preposterous” and accused the Trudeau-led government of pursuing a political agenda.

With inputs from agencies.