MUMBAI, India - As some Sikh Canadians, intelligence community members and Liberal MPs push back on the government official’s claim that India is no longer actively carrying out foreign interference, India’s High Commissioner to Canada insists it was “never” a problem in the first place.
“It never happened,” Dinesh K. Patnaik told journalists about accusations of foreign interference multiple times on the sidelines of a Canadian government announcement in Mumbai, India on Saturday.
Patnaik was being asked about comments made by Canadian government officials ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to India, suggesting India was no longer actively involved in foreign interference of transnational repression.
The comment marked a shift from a recent CSIS report that declared India to be one of the “main perpetrators” of foreign interference and espionage. The RCMP and former prime minister Justin Trudeau linked the Indian government to the murder of Canadian Sikh activist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023.
“It’s not a question of ‘it is no longer happening.’ It never happened,” said Patnaik. “It’s a problem Canada has to resolve itself. We are there to help you.”
Patnaik pointed to recent meetings between Canada and India’s national security and intelligence advisors, saying they were able to “clear up a lot of the things that were perceived before.”
Saturday morning, foreign affairs minister Anita Anand refused to directly answer question after question from journalists about whether she shares the opinion that India is no longer involved in foreign interference, as the officials stated.
“No country has a pass when it comes to Canadian public safety and security,” said Anand. “Foreign interference, transnational repression, is taken extremely seriously by our government.”
“If you read the entire transcript, you will see that senior government official gave a number of responses, which we, and I specifically, agree with, relating to the guardrails that we have in place.”
But Anand refused to answer whether she agreed with the point in question.
Anand also said she has been speaking with the Sikh caucus and understands the “very serious” sentiments the Sikh community in Canada are feeling.
“I, too, have concerns, and will continue to raise those concerns at the table in my conversations with Indian diplomats and my counterparts,” said Anand.
At least two Liberal MPs have publicly spoken out against the official’s comments.
“I don’t believe it’s true at all. I think the behaviour continues,” former national security advisor to Justin Trudeau, Jody Thomas told Mike Le Couteur on CTV Power Play, Friday.
Thomas says she thinks the official “misspoke,” and says it’s possible to continue investigations and “call a country into account” for what it has done, while working on the trade mission and bolstering economic ties.
With files from CTV News’ Senior Political Correspondent Mike Le Couteur
