The denial made by Nathalie G Drouin, National Security and Intelligence Advisor to Canadian Prime Minister, on Thursday came a day after India strongly trashed the report as "smear campaign".
The Canadian government has dismissed a media report linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External🍷 Affairs Minis▨ter S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to criminal activities in Canada, including the alleged plot to kill Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, terming it as "speculative and inaccurate”.
The denial made by Nathalie G Drouin, National Security and Intelligence Advisor to 🧔Canadian ꧅Prime Minister, on Thursday came a day after India strongly trashed the report as "smear campaign".
Quoting an unnamed senior national security official, The Globe and Mail newspaper on Tuesday reported that Canadian security agencies believe Prime Minister Modi knew about the killing of Nijjar and other violent plots. The official said Canadian and American intelligence tied the assassination operations to Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah. Also in the loop, the official said, ไwas Doval and Jaishankar.
In a statement issued by the Privy Council Office on Thursday, Drouin said, "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 acti👍vity in Canada perpetrated by agents of the Government of India."
However, he said, "The Go꧃vernment of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, Minister J♓aishankar, or NSA Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada. Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate.”
In a press conference on Oct 14, Royal Canad🉐ian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Mike Duheme warned of widespread violence, homicides and a public security threat linked to "agenꩲts" of the Indian government.
Hours after Duheme's conference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters, “I believe that India has made a monumental mistake by choosing to use their diplomats and organised crime to attack Canad𒀰ians, to make them feel unsafe here at (their) home, and even more, to create acts of violence and even murder. It's unacceptable.”
On Oct 26, Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison alleged that Indian Home Minister Shah ordereﷺd a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada.
In New Delhi on Wednesday, referring to the 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 alrea𓄧dy 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.
India-Canada ties further nosedived last month after Canada linked Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma and some other diplomats to the murder. India has strongly rejected all the allegations made by Ottawa in connection to the case and subsequently recalled the high commissioner. The Canadian government had said the Indian diplomats were e🏅xpelled from the country.
India expelled Canadian Cꦓharge d'Affaires Stewart Wheeler and five other diplomats following Canaღda's allegations.
New Delhi accuses Ottawa of doing next to nothing to stop the activities o🦩f Khalistani supporters 𓆏who seek to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.