India-Canada spat: Amit Shah indicted in new allegation, Modi govt sources call ‘far-fetched’ – Top 5 developments

Tensions between India and Canada over the alleged killing of a Khalistan separatist leader continue to escalate amid new allegations. Canada said on Tuesday that Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah was behind plots against Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.

Earlier this month Foreign Office said Canada had announced the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats “persons of interest” in a homicide investigation Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijhar.

India has repeatedly denied any involvement in the 2023 killing of a Sikh separatist in Canada, although the row has led to the expulsion of diplomats in both countries.

Here’s everything you need to know about the diplomatic spat between India and Canada:

1. “Amit Shah is behind the conspiracy against Sikh separatists”

Canada’s Deputy Foreign Minister David Morrison told MPs on Tuesday that Amit Shah had ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence gathering against Sikh separatists in Canada.

According to PTI, Morrison said he confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which first reported the allegations. “A journalist called me and asked if he (Shah) was that person. I confirmed that it was this person,” Morrison told the committee, according to Reuters.

The Washington Post first reported that Canadian officials say Shah, who is considered number two in Narendra Modi’s government, is behind a campaign of violence and intimidation against Sikh separatists in Canada.

The Canadian official, however, did not release any evidence of Shah’s alleged role in the campaign against the separatists. Meanwhile, the Globe and Mail reported that the leak not only points to Amit Shah, but also links India to the killing of Sikh activist Sukhdul Singh Gill, who was shot dead in Winnipeg on September 20, 2023.

2. How did India react? “Far-fetched”

Government of India, Amit Shah, or any other Indian authorities have yet to respond to the allegations. However, two Indian government sources told Reuters that India considers information about Amit Shah’s alleged role in attacks on Sikh separatists in Canada to be “very weak” and “minor” and does not expect it to cause problems for Shah or New Delhi.

3. “Exiled Indian High Commissioner Denies Involvement”

Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma, who was expelled earlier in October along with five other Indian diplomats, denied any involvement in the killing Canadian Sikh leader Nijar.

Sanjay Kumar Verma said in an interview with CTV on October 21 that the allegations are politically motivated. “Nothing at all,” Verma said when asked if he had any role in the shoot Hardeep Singh Nijar who was killed outside a cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18, 2023. “No evidence was provided. Politically motivated,” PTI quoted him as saying.

4. US considering “expulsion” of Indian diplomats amid India-Canada row?

The US State Department has dismissed recent reports that Washington is considering expulsion of Indian diplomats in response to rising diplomatic tensions between India and Canada.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stated this at a press conference Tuesday“I am not familiar with this report that we have expelled Indian diplomats… I am not aware of any such expulsion.”

Earlier this month, India and Canada each expelled six diplomats in a diplomatic spat.

5. Canadian opposition leader canceled Diwali celebrations

Canadian opposition leader Pierre Poilievre canceled a Diwali celebration that was due to take place on Parliament Hill amid an ongoing diplomatic row with India. Overseas Friends of India Canada (OFIC), the organizer of the event, has not received any explanation for the cancellation of the Diwali celebrations.

OFIC President Shiv Bhasker wrote a letter to Pierre Poilievre expressing his concern about the decision. In a letter to Pierre Poilievre, Bhasker wrote: “It is with extreme disappointment and sadness that I am writing to you to express our dismay that the office of the Leader of the Opposition has canceled the 24th Diwali celebrations on Parliament Hill.”