Rejecting allegations of interference in Canada’s elections as “baseless,” the Indian government asserted on Friday that it does not engage in such practices and called out Canada for its own meddling in Indian affairs.
Addressing a press briefing, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), targeted Ottawa, emphasizing that Canada has been the one interfering in India’s internal matters.
“We strongly reject such baseless allegations of Indian interference in Canadian elections, it is not govt of India’s policy to interfere in the democratic process of other countries, in fact, quite on the reverse it is Canada, who has been interfering in our internal affairs,” he said.
Further, Jaiswal reiterated India’s longstanding concerns regarding Canada’s actions and urged Ottawa to take concrete steps to address these issues.
“We have been raising this issue regularly with them, we continue to call on Canada to take effective measures to address our core concerns,” he added.
The controversy arose following a report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, which accused China of clandestine attempts to influence Canadian elections and named India as another foreign interference threat. The report underscored the need for Canada to bolster its defenses against such activities.
The report, as obtained by the Canadian based Global News also stated that India’s interference would worsen if not intervened.
It is pertinent to note that relations between India and Canada had soured previously in September 2023 when Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau suggested the possibility of Indian government involvement in the murder of a Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. This statement had led to heightened tensions between the two nations. Dismissing the charges levelled, India had called the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.
