India’s External Affairs Minister has criticized Canada for making assertions without supporting documentation in response to Canada’s unfounded allegations of Indian meddling in its elections and politics. This has caused a diplomatic spat.
Unexpectedly, Canada has accused India of interfering in Canadian elections and politics, accusing it of being a foreign agent. However, there doesn’t seem to be any solid proof to support these assertions, which led Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to criticize Canada for levelling unfounded charges.
Canada’s Baseless Charges
The Canadian government has released a study titled “Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions,” which claims that Indian officials and their proxies have been involved in political and community influence operations in Canada. Additionally, the study asserts that “India directed foreign interference activities” in Canada’s federal elections in 2019 and 2021.
Jaishankar has angrily denied these accusations, claiming that Canada has never shown any proof to support its assertions. He underlined that Canada has been asked by India on many occasions to provide whatever evidence they may have, but none has been provided.
Gang Links and the Nijjar Plot
The charges from Canada follow the recent apprehension of three Indian nationals in relation to the murder of separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was in favor of Khalistan. Even if Indian connections may be investigated by Canadian authorities, Jaishankar emphasized that the suspects have a history of organized crime, particularly in Punjab.
He made the obvious observation that Canada has let organized crime from Punjab to function within its borders, raising the possibility that there is more to the problem than just political motives.
The Khalistani Agenda and Vote Bank Politics
Jaishankar ascribed Canada’s position to the effect of vote bank politics, in which the ruling party depends on the backing of organizations sympathetic to Khalistani. He said that by giving separatists a place to live and political legitimacy, Canada was putting both countries at risk and straining their bilateral ties.
The foreign minister also stressed that India has regularly sent Canada a list of 25 people who are either part of criminal gangs engaged in illicit activity or are recognized as pro-Khalistani activists. But tensions between the two nations have risen as a result of Canada’s failure to respond to India’s demands for extradition.
The Link to Pakistan
Jaishankar also responded to the allegations made by the former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, that India is murdering people in Pakistan. He denied these charges, claiming that there are many terrorists in Pakistan and that their presence may be the main reason for these kinds of events.
The foreign minister questioned Pakistan’s defense of terrorists, arguing that the country has to deal with the problem of terrorism within its borders first.
