Canada alleges Indian minister Amit Shah behind plot to target Sikh separatists
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India's Home Minister Amit Shah (centre) paying his last respects to the late Indian industrialist Ratan Tata ahead of his cremation in Mumbai on Oct 10.
PHOTO: AFP
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OTTAWA - The Canadian government alleged on Oct 29 that Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah, a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was behind the plots to target Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.
The Indian government has dismissed Canada’s prior accusations as baseless, denying any involvement.
The Washington Post first reported that Canadian officials alleged Mr Shah was behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.
Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison said to a parliamentary panel on Oct 29 that he told the US-based newspaper that Mr Shah was behind the plots.
“The journalist called me and asked if it (Shah) was that person. I confirmed it was that person,” Mr Morrison said, without providing further details or evidence.
The Indian Home Ministry directed queries to the Foreign Ministry.
Canada told India about Mr Shah’s alleged role in the plots around October 2023, one Indian government source told Reuters in New Delhi on Oct 30.
But New Delhi thinks the information is very weak and does not expect it to cause any trouble for Mr Shah or the government, the source and another government source said.
Both spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media.
Sikh separatists, whom India has called “terrorists” and threats to its security, demand an independent homeland known as Khalistan to be carved out of India.
An insurgency in India during the 1980s and 1990s killed tens of thousands. That period included the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that left thousands dead following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards after she ordered security forces to storm the holiest Sikh temple to flush out Sikh separatists.
Canada in mid-October expelled Indian diplomats
The Canadian case is not the only instance of India’s alleged targeting of Sikh separatists on foreign soil.
Washington has charged a former Indian intelligence officer, Vikash Yadav, with allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen and Indian critic, in New York City.
The FBI warned against such a retaliation aimed at a US resident. India has said little publicly since announcing in November 2023 that it would formally investigate the US allegations.
The accusations have tested Washington and Ottawa’s relations with India, often viewed by the West as a counterbalance to China. REUTERS
