Canada dismisses media report linking PM Modi, EAM, NSA to criminal activities

The Canadian government has dismissed a media report connecting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to criminal activities in Canada, terming it "speculative and inaccurate”. The report also associated them with the alleged plot to kill Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Nathalie G Drouin, the National Security and Intelligence Advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, denied the report a day after India strongly condemned it as a "smear campaign," reported PTI.

Quoting an unnamed senior national security official, The Globe and Mail newspaper on Tuesday reported that Canadian security agencies believed that Prime Minister Modi knew about the killing of Nijjar and other violent plots. The Canadian and American intelligence tied the assassinations to Home Minister Amit Shah and that Ajit Doval and S Jaishankar were also in the loop, the official added.

In a statement issued by the Privy Council Office, Drouin said, "On October 14th, because of a significant and ongoing threat to public safety, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and officials took the extraordinary step of making public accusations of serious criminal activity in Canada perpetrated by agents of the Government of India."

However, he added, "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. Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate."

In New Delhi on Wednesday, referring to The Globe and Mail report, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said such "ludicrous statements" should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve and "smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties".

India-Canada ties remain deeply troubled over Canada's alleged support to Khalistani separatists and its accusation of India's involvement in the killing of Nijjar, who was gunned down in Surrey, British Columbia in June last year.