India on Saturday rejected claims as "baseless" that it has interfered in the Canadian general elections. Hitting back at Ottawa, it said that the situation is the other way around. It was Canada which was meddling in New Delhi's internal affairs.
A media report in Canada stated that India and Pakistan attempted to "interfere" in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections in Canada. An unclassified summary by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) alleged the interference was tabled as part of the Federal Commission of Inquiry examining possible meddling by China, India, Russia and others in the 2019 and 2021 elections.
The CSIS, in its documents, alleged that the Indian government in 2021 had "intended to interfere and likely conducted clandestine activities", including using an Indian government proxy agent in Canada.
Reacting to the charges, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We have seen media reports about the Canadian commission inquiring into. We strongly reject all such baseless allegations of Indian interference in Canadian elections."
"It is not the government of India's policy to interfere in the democratic processes of other countries. In fact, quite on the reverse, it is Canada which has been interfering in our internal affairs," he said.
CSIS further said that in 2019, Pakistani government officials in Canada “attempted to clandestinely influence Canadian federal politics with the aim of furthering the Government of Pakistan’s interests in Canada”. It further wrote that the south Asian country is a “limited foreign interference actor”.
The spy agency said the Canadian government conducted a “threat reduction measure” meant to blunt the threat posed by the Pakistan government.
“The situation was monitored and assessed to have effectively reduced the threat of interference,” CSIS said.
In September, Canada PM Justin Trudeau told parliament that his government had “credible allegations” that Indian officials were behind the assassination of a prominent Sikh leader in Canada. This triggered a diplomatic row between the two former allies.