Diplomatic rift deepens: India responds to Canada’s allegations on Nijjar murder

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The Indian government on Wednesday dismissed a report from a Canadian newspaper that alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi was aware of a plot to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) called the media claims "ludicrous." MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasized that while the government generally refrains from commenting on media reports, such allegations, reportedly sourced from a Canadian government official, should be treated with the contempt they deserve. "Smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties," Jaiswal added.

The report, citing an unnamed Canadian national security official, claimed that the assassination plot was allegedly orchestrated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, with PM Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval being informed about the plan. However, the report also stated that Canada lacked concrete evidence to support the claim that PM Modi knew of the plot. According to the report, while Canada does not have direct evidence that Modi was aware of the plan, the unnamed official suggested that it would be unlikely for three senior Indian officials not to have discussed such targeted killings with the Prime Minister beforehand.

This marks the first time that accusations have been made directly against PM Modi, Jaishankar, and Doval in relation to the Nijjar killing, escalating the controversy that began after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's earlier allegations. Last year, diplomatic relations between India and Canada soured dramatically when Trudeau claimed to have credible intelligence linking Indian government agents to Nijjar's assassination. India strongly denied any involvement, dismissing the claims as baseless and politically motivated.