In the latest, India has rejected Canada’s allegations of election interference and accused Ottawa of meddling in its internal affairs. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) dismissed the claims, saying that Canada has enabled illegal migration and organised criminal activities targeting India. “We have seen a report about alleged activities on purported interference. It is in fact Canada which has been consistently interfering in India’s internal affairs. This has also created an environment for illegal migration and organized criminal activities. We reject the report’s insinuations on India and expect that the support system enabling illegal migration will not be further countenanced,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted a statement on X.
The Canadian report claimed that India was the second active foreign country, following China, in interfering in Canada’s elections. The report stated, “India is a critical actor on the world stage. Canada and India have worked together for decades, but there are challenges in the relationship. Many of these are long-standing and inform India’s foreign interference activities”.
The 123-page document also highlighted to Canada’s expulsion of six Indian diplomats in October 2024, labeling them as ‘agents’ of an alleged Indian government-linked campaign of violence. India had retaliated by expelling six Canadian diplomats the same day, calling Canada’s actions ‘baseless targeting’ of Indian officials.
The report also claimed that India spread disinformation about the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. However, the report contradicted itself by saying that Canada could not find a link to a foreign state on his killing.
The report said, “Disinformation is also used as a retaliatory tactic, to punish decisions that run contrary to a state’s interests. This may have been the case with a disinformation campaign that followed the Prime Minister’s announcement regarding suspected Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar (though again no definitive link to a foreign state could be proven)”. On November 20, India strongly disproved the reports in Canadian media about the killing of India-designated Separatist terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, and said it should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve.
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