A recent official investigation into claims of foreign interference in Canadian elections has cleared India of any wrongdoing. According to the findings, a panel of senior Canadian officials overseeing the 2021 elections found no evidence of India attempting to influence the national polls. One poll official stated, "I do not believe during the 2021 election that we saw evidence of the Government of India using those tools in the campaign."
However, the investigation revealed that China had interfered in Canada's last two elections, as reported by the Canadian intelligence agency. This development comes in the wake of allegations by the Canada Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that both India and Pakistan had meddled in the Canadian elections of 2019 and 2021, both of which were won by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party.
To address concerns raised by opposition legislators and media reports regarding potential Chinese involvement, Trudeau established a commission to investigate foreign interference. Trudeau is set to testify before the probe panel soon.
India had previously denied the allegations and reiterated its commitment to non-interference in the democratic processes of other nations. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal strongly rejected the accusations, stating, "We have seen media reports about the Canadian commission enquiring into... We strongly reject all such baseless allegations of Indian interference in Canadian elections."
Jaiswal emphasized that it is not the policy of the Indian government to interfere in the democratic processes of other countries. Instead, he pointed out that Canada has been meddling in India's internal affairs.
This inquiry into foreign meddling has further strained relations between India and Canada, aggravated by previous allegations made by Trudeau regarding Indian involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. Despite India's dismissal of these allegations as absurd, they have led to diplomatic tensions between the two nations.
