Escalating further diplomatic tensions with India, Canada has officially added India to its probe of election meddling. The country’s public inquiry into foreign interference will examine whether India interfered in Ottawa’s national elections or not in 2019 and 2021, according to a Bloomberg report.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau initiated the probe last year, following the leak of intelligence documents to the media. The leaks talked in depth about China’s interference in Canada’s elections by supporting candidates friendly to President Xi Jinping’s government.
The commission tasked with the job confirmed on Wednesday (Jan 24) that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government was indeed under investigation.
Interestingly, this is the first time that New Delhi’s name has been dragged into the election interference process despite China being a notable one, in addition to Russia and other state and non-state actors.
Apart from allegedly interfering in Canada’s electoral system, China has been accused of opening illegal police stations across Canada. These police stations are affiliated with the Public Security Bureau (PSB) and have been set up to antagonise China’s adversaries.
Cold India-Canada relations
India and Canada have been in a diplomatic standoff ever since Trudeau addressed the parliament and said his government had ‘credible allegations’ that New Delhi was involved in the killing of a Khalistani separatist named Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
After Trudeau’s allegations concerning Nijjar, diplomatic animosity reached a tipping point between the two nations, with a series of mutual expulsions of diplomats taking place.
New Delhi was the first to temporarily suspend certain visa services which put Ottawa in a fix. However, despite the allegations, the Canadian government is yet to present proof to back up its allegations.
Nijjar, the 45-year-old Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief, was shot dead on June 18 by two unidentified men in the parking lot of Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, Canada. He had moved to Canada in the late 1990s and was declared a designated terrorist by India in 2020.
Last week, New Delhi said it was willing to assist Canada’s extortion probe involving alleged Indian criminal gangs if Ottawa provided facts and requested formally. However, a few days later, Ottawa has returned the favour by levelling allegations against PM Modi’s government.
(With inputs from agencies)
