By Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) – The Canadian government alleged on Tuesday that Indian Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah, a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was behind plans to target Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.

The Indian government has rejected Canada’s previous accusations as unfounded and denied any involvement.

The Washington Post newspaper first reported that Canadian officials claimed the Shah was behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting separatist Sikhs in Canada.

Canadian Deputy Foreign Minister David Morrison told a parliamentary panel on Tuesday that he had told the US-based newspaper that the Shah was behind the plots.

“The journalist called me and asked if (the Shah) was that person. I confirmed it was that person,” Morrison told the committee, without providing further details or evidence. The Indian High Commission in Ottawa and the Indian foreign ministry had no immediate comment on the matter.

India has called Sikh separatists “terrorists” and threats to its security. Sikh separatists demand the carving out of India of an independent homeland known as Khalistan. Insurgency in India in the 1980s and 1990s killed tens of thousands of people.

This period also included the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that left thousands dead after then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was killed by her Sikh bodyguards after she ordered security forces to storm the holiest Sikh temple to clear out Sikh separatists.

Canada expelled Indian diplomats in mid-October, tying them to the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. India also ordered the expulsion of Canadian diplomats.

The Canadian case is not the only example of India allegedly targeting Sikh separatists on foreign soil.

Washington has indicted Vikash Yadav, a former Indian intelligence officer, for allegedly leading a thwarted plot to kill Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen and Indian critic in New York.

The FBI warned against such retaliation targeting a US resident. India has said little publicly since announcing in November 2023 that it would formally investigate the US allegations.

The accusations have tested Washington and Ottawa’s relations with India, which is often seen by the West as a counterweight to China.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Richard Chang)