The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday termed as fake the ‘secretly issued memo’ that surfaced on social media, in which a false attempt has been made to link Indian diplomats abroad to violent crimes.
The Ministry of External Affairs said, no such memo has been issued by the Government of India.
The External Publicity and Public Diplomacy Division (XP Division) of the Ministry of External Affairs said, “The said communication of the Government of India is fake.”
The fake April 2023 memo purportedly from former Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra asks Indian diplomats to develop Indian diaspora groups in Canada “as a significant force in the street confrontation with Sikh extremists.”
It mentions the names of various groups of NRIs including Indo-Canada Association (ICA), Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC), TiE Silicon Valley (TIE SV) and USIBC.
This comes amid the ongoing India-Canada standoff, with India alleging that Canada serves as a safe haven for Khalistani separatists. Last week, devotees and others were attacked at the premises of a Hindu temple in Brampton, Ontario. India has condemned the violence and urged Canada to provide security to Indian diplomats.
Last month, India had “strongly” rejected Canada’s diplomatic communication that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats were “persons of interest” in Nijjar’s killing, calling it an “absurd allegation” and a threat to the Justin Trudeau government. Was said to be part of the political agenda. ,
Following this, the then High Commissioner Verma and five other diplomats were recalled by New Delhi.
Relations between India and Canada soured when Mr Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he had “credible allegations” that India was involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India has denied all the allegations, calling them “absurd” and “motivated” and has accused Canada of harboring extremist and anti-India elements in its country.
Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot dead outside a gurudwara in Surrey in June last year.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
