The Canadian government on Tuesday alleged that Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah was behind plots to target Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.
The Indian government did not immediately respond, but has called Canada’s prior accusations baseless, denying any involvement.
The Washington Post first reported that Canadian officials alleged Shah, considered the No. 2 in the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.
Photo: Reuters
Canadian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs David Morrison on Tuesday said at a parliamentary panel that he told the newspaper that Shah was behind the plots.
“The journalist called me and asked if it was that person [Shah]. I confirmed it was that person,” Morrison told the committee, without providing further details.
The High Commission of India in Ottawa and the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no immediate comment.
The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs directed queries to the foreign ministry.
Canada told India about Shah’s alleged role in the plots in October last year, one Indian government source told Reuters in New Delhi yesterday.
However, New Delhi thinks the information is very weak, flimsy and does not expect it to cause any trouble for Shah or the government, the source and another government source said.
Both spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
India has called Sikh separatists “terrorists” and threats to its security. Sikh separatists demand an independent homeland known as Khalistan to be carved out of India.
Canada has expelled Indian diplomats, linking them to last year’s murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.
New Delhi also ordered the expulsion of Canadian diplomats from India.
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