Ottawa Says No Evidence Linking Indian PM to Criminal Activity in Canada

The prime minister’s top security adviser says the Canadian government is not aware of evidence linking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to criminal activity in Canada.
“The Government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, or NSA Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada,” she said. “Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate.”
Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, including its high commissioner, in relation to the accusations and India responded in kind.
The Globe’s report said Canadian and U.S. intelligence had tied the assassination operations to Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah, and that External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and national security adviser Ajit Doval were also aware of the matter.
Such information had not been provided by Canadian authorities when they made public accusations in mid-October linking Indian government agents to homicides and extortion and Canada.
The Privy Council Office, which houses the NSIA, said that Drouin and Morrison had not provided classified information to the Washington Post. Morrison told the committee that the Post’s journalist had called him and asked if Shah was involved. “I confirmed it was that person,” Morrison said.
“I’m trying to understand why it is the Washington Post received information when the … [RCMP] commissioner, the prime minister, the public safety minister, and the minister of Foreign affairs, did not provide that information to Canada,” she said.
Drouin said it was to ensure Canada’s side of the story would be “clearly” and “widely spread, especially at the international level.” Drouin said Ottawa had to go public because New Delhi had refused to cooperate on the issue of criminality in Canada.
New Delhi has denied any involvement in criminal activity in Canada. It says Ottawa’s accusations are politically motivated and that it has not shared proper evidence about the matter.
“Everything we have done over the past years in multiple difficult situations is to put the emphasis on keeping Canadians safe here at home, across the country, and making sure we’re standing up for the rule of law,” he added.