Canada and Bharat have been at loggerheads ever since the former made reckless allegations about the involvement of some high-ranking officials in the killing of Khalistan terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The Justin Trudeau government which led the charge in making those reckless allegations is at it again. This time it has planted a false story in The Globe and Mail in which it is stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have been aware of the plot to kill Nijjar. The stories that were attributed to an anonymous security official who worked on an Intelligence assessment alleged that Foreign Minister, Dr S Jaishankar too may be linked to the plot.
This is not the first time that Canada has planted baseless stories in the media against top politicians and officials. Last month, the Trudeau administration escalated matters further when it planted a baseless story in The Washington Post. The story said that Union Home Minister, Amit Shah was the one who led the campaign against the Khalistan terrorists in Canada. This was confirmed by Canada’s National Security and Intelligence Adviser Nathalie Drouin and Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, David Morrison. They said that they had leaked the informed to The Washington Post.
The Globe and Mail reports said that Canada does not have direct evidence that PM Modi knew about the plot. It is unthinkable that three senior political figures in India would not have discussed the targeted killings with Modi before proceeding, the Globe said. The report also quoted unidentified officials saying that Canadian and American Intelligence had tied the assassination operations to Amit Shah. It further said that also in the loop were Ajit Doval and Dr. Jaishankar.
Planting fake news, a new norm
The entire fiasco began with the death of Nijjar. He was shot dead in Canada and the Trudeau government was quick to blame officials from Bharat. It did not end there and matters got worse when Canada said that National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval and Union Home Minister, Amit Shah had led the campaign against the Khalistan terrorists who are living under Trudeau’s protection.
Now that Canada has planted fake news and named PM Modi and Jaishankar, it becomes increasingly clear that Trudeau is playing to the Khalistan script.
Before PM Modi was elected to the top office in 2014, the movement did exist. However it was not as blatant about this. Since the time the BJP led NDA government came to power, there has been a no-nonsense and no appeasement policy when it came to dealing with terrorism. Not only did the security establishment put down terror with an iron fist in the main land, but also got it under control in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, for the Khalistani elements to become aggressive, the real reason is that the current dispensation in Bharat has not let them or their boys raise their ugly head in Punjab, which is their ultimate target. Every single attempt to revive the Khalistan movement has been put down and this has added to the frustration.
This brings us to the question is why is the Trudeau government naming the top men of Bharat. This is clearly being done at the behest of the Khalistan elements as Trudeau is desperate to please them.
Take a look at all the referendums that have been called by the Khalistan outfit Sikhs for Justice (SJF). While there are anti-Bharat slogans chanted and Hindu Temples vandalised, in each of these events there is a direct targeting of PM Modi. On several occasions be it in the UK, Canada or Australia, where these referendums are held, graffiti has been founds on the walls calling for the downfall of PM Modi.
This explains why the Canadian government ended up planting these latest stories in which the Indian PM was named. It was clearly to please the Khalistanis, who have been desperate since the BJP came to power in 2014.
Bharat reacts strongly
The spokesperson for the Ministry External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal rejected the reports. “We normally do not comment on media reports. However, such ludicrous statements made to a newspaper purportedly by a Canadian govt source should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve. Smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties,” Jaiswal said.
Bharat has been clear on its stance since day 1 of this diplomatic crisis breaking out. New Delhi has maintained that it has nothing to do with the killings. Instead, it has been requesting Canada for very long to extradite the terrorists that it has been sheltering. There are scores of investigations which nail these Khalistan elements sitting in Canada. Not only are they protected, but some have critical positions in the government. Sandeep Singh Siddhu alias Sunny who is wanted to crimes in Bharat such as the killing of Shaurya Chakra awardee, Balwinder Singh Sandhu is employed with the Canada Border Service Agency. While Bharat had raised this, Canada decided to give him a clean chit.
The fact that Trudeau relies on the New Democratic Party headed by Jagmeet Singh, who is an open proponent of the Khalistan movement tells the story. Since Jagmeet Singh’s party withdrew support to Trudeaus’s minority liberal government, the Canadian PM has been on overdrive mode to please the Khalistan elements so that his government survives. In doing so, he has ruined the relations with Bharat and today he is worsening it by. Planting ludicrous stories.
