The Global News Agency Reuters reported that the Canadian government has accused Indian Interior Minister Amit Shah, a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, of involvement in plots targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.

The Indian government has not yet responded, but it condemned previous Canadian accusations as baseless and denied any involvement.

The Washington Post was the first to report that Canadian officials accused Shah, who is seen as the second man in Modi's government, of being behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.

David Morrison, Canada's Deputy Foreign Minister, told a parliamentary committee yesterday that he informed the U.S.-based newspaper that Shah was behind the plots.

He added, "A reporter contacted me and asked if Shah was the person involved, and I confirmed that he was," without providing further details or evidence. There has been no comment yet from the High Commission of India in Ottawa or the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

A government source in India told Reuters in New Delhi today that Canada informed India of the role Shah is suspected of playing in the plots that occurred in October 2023.

The source and another government source mentioned that New Delhi sees the information provided as weak and superficial and does not expect it to cause problems for Shah or the government.

India describes the Sikh separatists as "terrorists" and claims they pose a threat to its security. Sikh separatists are demanding an independent homeland called Khalistan - meaning Land of the Pure - separated from India. An insurgency in India during the 1980s and 1990s resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands.

In mid-October, Canada expelled Indian diplomats it said were linked to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader, in Canada in 2023. India responded by issuing an order to expel Canadian diplomats.