India rejects Canadian commission's 'insinuations' about meddling in elections

India on Tuesday night (January 28) strongly rejected "insinuations" made against it in a report by a Canadian commission that investigated allegations that certain foreign governments were meddling into Canada's elections.

In a strong reaction, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it rejects the report's "insinuations" on India. It is in fact Canada which has been "consistently interfering" in India's internal affairs, it said.

"We have seen a report about alleged activities on purported interference. It is in fact Canada which has been consistently interfering in India's internal affairs," the MEA said.

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"This has also created an environment for illegal migration and organised criminal activities," it said in a statement.

"We reject the report's insinuations on India and expect that the support system enabling illegal migration will not be further countenanced," it added.

The government of India was suspected of using proxy agents to provide "clandestine financial support" to candidates from three political parties in a federal election, Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported.

Commission of inquiry

In September 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named Justice Marie-JosÃe Hogue to head the commission of inquiry into the allegations of foreign meddling in elections.

The commission examined allegations of meddling into the elections against China, Russia, and others, according to Canadian media reports.

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Last June, a report by Canada's National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians found that some parliamentarians were witting or semi-witting participants in foreign meddling.

(With inputs from agencies)