China, not India, interfered in 2019 and 2021 Canada elections, says Canadian panel

India did not interfere in Canadian elections in 2019 and 2021, Canadian officials have said, rejecting the allegations made by Canadian intelligence agencies.

Canadian officials investigating the allegations of foreign interference in the Canadian elections stated in a report that no evidence has been found showing any meddling by India to influence the polls.

“I do not believe that during the 2021 election, we saw evidence of the Government of India using those tools in the campaign,” an official in the investigation said.

Moreover, the panel has mentioned China’s involvement in influencing the Canadian elections in 2019 and 2021.

According to the declassified top-secret briefing report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Canadian media reported that India and China were identified as a “potential threat” to Canadian elections.

According to reports, the probe panel, which included former Deputy Foreign Minister Marta Morgan and Former Cabinet Secretary Janice Charette, highlighted the absence of Indian government tactics in the campaign.

“We know that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) clandestinely and deceptively interfered in both the elections,” the commission said.

“In both cases, these FI (foreign interference) activities were pragmatic in nature and focused primarily on supporting those viewed to be either ‘pro-PRC’ or ‘neutral’ on issues of interest to the PRC government,” it said.

The CSIS had recently suggested that both India and Pakistan had tried to interfere in the Canadian elections following which the Opposition were unhappy about China’s possible role.

A commission was then set up by the Trudeau government. Justin Trudeau is scheduled to testify on Wednesday, 10th April, local time.

India has denied the allegations long before. “We have seen media reports about the Canadian commission inquiring into …We strongly reject all such baseless allegations of Indian interference in Canadian elections. It is not the government of India’s policy to interfere in the democratic processes of other countries. In fact, quite on the contrary, it is Canada which has been interfering in our internal affairs,” External Affairs Ministry (EAM) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

Canada has strained its ties with New Delhi over similar allegations of foreign interference including alleged involvement in the role of the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Source: OpIndia