India denies the minister plotted anti-Sikh attacks in Canada

India on Saturday denied that Home Minister Amit Shah had plotted to target Sikh activists on Canadian soil and said it had formally reprimanded Ottawa for the “absurd and baseless” allegation.

Canada is home to the largest Sikh community outside of India and includes activists for “Khalistan,” a fringe separatist movement seeking an independent state for the religious minority carved out of Indian territory.

Earlier, Ottawa accused India of orchestrating the 2023 killing in Vancouver of naturalized Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Khalistan activist, 45.

But this week, Canadian officials said Ottawa had traced a broader campaign targeting Canadian Sikh activists to the highest levels of India’s government, involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s powerful right-hand man.

“The Government of India protests in the strongest possible terms against the absurd and baseless references made to the Union Home Minister of India,” external ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told reporters.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, along with Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Minister of Public Security, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc attend a press conference on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's investigation into — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, along with Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Minister of Public Security, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc attend a press conference on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s investigation into “violent criminal activity in Canada with ties to India ”, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on October 14. Photo: Reuters

Jaiswal said a Canadian diplomat was summoned and issued a letter to formally protest the charge against Shah.