Canadian inquiry panel accuses India of foreign interference, MEA rejects report

A Canadian inquiry commission on Tuesday accused India of interfering in the country’s electoral process by clandestinely providing financial support to political leaders and engaging in disinformation.

The Indian foreign ministry rejected the commission’s report, and alleged that it was in fact Canada that was consistently interfering in India’s internal affairs.

The Canadian inquiry commission, tasked with investigating “foreign interference in federal electoral processes and democratic institutions”, alleged that India was the second most active country after China that was interfering with Canada’s electoral process.

“Like the PRC [People’s Republic of China], India conducts foreign interference through diplomatic officials in Canada and through proxies,” the report, authored by Marie-Josée Hogue, a judge at the Quebec Court of Appeal, said.

The commission alleged that proxy agents may have, and may continue to be, secretly extending illicit financial support to certain Canadian politicians “in an attempt to secure the election of pro-India candidates or gain influence over candidates who take office”.

However, it added that intelligence did not indicate that the officials or candidates were aware of the alleged interference attempts.

The inquiry also accused India of using disinformation as a key form of foreign interference against Canada, and said that the tactic may be used more often in the future.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday evening rejected…

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