By Anushka Rajvedi
The Ministry of External Affairs has rejected the claims of being “after China, the next country that has actively interfered in the electoral process of Canada.”
The Indian MEA responded to a report released earlier by Canada. The government of Canada released a report stating that their election processes were intruded by China and India. According to CTV news Marie- Josée Hogue, the commissioner leading the inquiry, stated that “It was China that posed the greatest threat to the nation by meddling in the electoral process of the country.
It is further noted that India is the second country that has been actively involved in influencing the country’s election.” In addition to China and India, the report also listed Pakistan, Iran and Russia as few countries that have been interfering in the process.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs rejected the claims made by the Canadian government, stating that they were false and that it is Canada that has been meddling in India’s internal affairs.
In a statement, the MEA said, “The ministry has come across the report released by the government of Canada, however, the claims made by them are false.” The MEA further accused the Canadian government, stating, “It is not India, but Canada that has been involving itself in the internal matters of India.” The statement continued, “Due to Canada’s continuous interference, an environment has been created that has led to an increase in criminal activities and the number of immigrants that have illegally entered the country. India will not tolerate any such actions in the future.”
The ties between India and Canada weakened when, in September 2023 Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, in the parliament, accused the Indian government of deploying agents involved in the murder of Harshdeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-Khalistan separatist, in June 2023. India, however, rejected these allegations calling them ‘baseless’ claiming they were ‘motivated for political reasons’.
The incident led to the expulsion of high-ranking officials from both Canada and India, resulting in deterioration of the diplomatic relations between the two countries.