India rejects Canadian report on election meddling, accuses Canada of interference in internal affairs

In a strong-worded statement, India rejected a Canadian report alleging that the Indian government interfered in Canada’s elections.The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that it is in fact Canada which has been consistently interfering in India’s internal affairs.“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,” the statement read.The report from the Canadian Commission alleged that after China, India was active in interfering in Canada’s electoral process.India is the second most active country engaging in electoral foreign interference in Canada. Like the PRC, 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 report said.The 123-page report also talked of expelling of six diplomats’ in October last year, dubbing them as ‘agents’. The report referred to the time when Canada on October 14, 2024 expelled six Indian diplomats after police collected evidence that they were part of an Indian government “campaign of violence”. India then expelled six Canadian diplomats hours after it summoned Canada’s Charge d’Affaires Stewart Wheeler and conveyed that the “baseless targeting” of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable.“In October 2024, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats and consular officials in reaction to a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the Government of India,” the report alleged.The report also claimed that India spread disinformation regarding 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.“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),” the report said.On November 20, India strongly refuted the reports in Canadian media regarding the killing of India-designated Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, and said it should be dismissed with the “contempt they deserve.”The Ministry of External Affairs further emphasised that “smear campaigns” like this only “further damage our already strained ties.”Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed outside the Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. (ANI)