New Delhi: India on Wednesday dismissed a Canadian media report as a “smear campaign” that claimed that the Indian prime minister was aware of an alleged plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal criticised the report, which quoted an unnamed Canadian official, labelling the claims as “ludicrous statements” deserving outright rejection.
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“We do not normally comment on media reports. However, such ludicrous statements made to a newspaper purportedly by a Canadian government source should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve,” he said.
Jaiswal said that smear campaigns like this only worsen the already strained ties between India and Canada. He was addressing media queries about the report published in the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail.
The report, published in The Globe and Mail, cited inputs from a senior national security official and alleged that India’s national security advisor (NSA) and external affairs minister were also aware of the purported plot.
