NEW DELHI: India has rubbished Canadian media reports suggesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was aware of the plot to kill Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“We do not normally comment on media reports. However, such ludicrous statements made to a newspaper purportedly by a Canadian government source should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve. Smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties,” said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesman Randhir Jaiswal on Wednesday.
Jaiswal’s statement came in respone to a report that appeared in Canadian newspaper — Globe and Mail — quoting a government source that it’s not possible that PM Modi was not “aware of the targeted killing”. The report alleges that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, too, were kept in the loop.
Earlier, a Canadian Parliamentarian had claimed that Home Minister Amit Shah was aware of the plot to kill Nijjar — who was gunned down in Surrey, British Columbia, in June last year.
It may be recalled that the diplomatic standoff between the two countries began last year when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of being privy to the killing when he had met PM Modi in G20 Summit in New Delhi in September.
As a result of these incidents, both the countries have recalled the high commissoners and the diplomats. India has denied any complicity in Nijjar’s death.
Despite several Indian requests for evidence, Canada has failed to provide any proof of New Delhi’s involvement in Nijjar’s murder but has continued to make allegations. India’s extradition requests to Canada to return individuals most wanted have also fallen on deaf ears.