Ottawa, Jan 29 (PTI): A Canada commission report has said that "no definitive link" with a "foreign state" in the killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was "proven", smashing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations that accused the involvement of Indian agents in the killing.

In September 2023, Trudeau said Canada had credible evidence that agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder of Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023.

The report titled "Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions' was released on Tuesday.

In the report commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue said "Disinformation is used as a retaliatory tactic to punish decisions that run contrary to a state's interests."

The report has suggested India spread disinformation on the killing of Nijjar.

"This may have been the case with a disinformation campaign that followed the Prime Minister's announcement regarding suspected Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar (though again no definitive link to a foreign state could be proven)," the report said.

Nijjar was gunned down in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023.

The 123-page report also talked of expelling six Indian diplomats.

"In October 2024, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats and consular officials in reaction to a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the Government of India," it said.

However, India expelled six Canadian diplomats and announced the withdrawal of its high commissioner.

The relations between India and Canada came under severe strain following Prime Minister Trudeau's allegations in September last year of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar.

New Delhi had rejected Trudeau's charges as "absurd".

India has repeatedly criticised Trudeau's government for being soft on supporters of the Khalistan movement who live in Canada. The Khalistan movement is banned in India but has support among the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada.

On Tuesday, India strongly rejected "insinuations" made against it in the report by a Canadian commission that investigated allegations that certain foreign governments were meddling in Canada's elections.

In a strong reaction, the MEA in New Delhi 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.

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New Delhi (PTI): The much-awaited decision about the new chief minister of Delhi will be made in the BJP legislature party meeting to be held at the party's Delhi unit office on Wednesday evening.

The BJP has come to power after 26 years, defeating the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the February 5 Delhi Assembly polls.

Preparations were complete for the legislature party meeting that is expected to begin around 7 pm at Delhi BJP office, the party leaders said.

The 48 BJP MLAs will choose the Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly who will become the chief minister.

The meeting will be held in the presence of BJP's central observers, whose names are yet to be declared. The new chief minister after being chosen by the party MLAs will meet Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena at the Raj Niwas to stake claim to power.

Meanwhile, preparations are in full swing for a grand swearing-in ceremony of the new government at Ramleela Ground on Thursday afternoon.

Around 50,000 people, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues and the chief minister of NDA ruled states among other guests, will attend the ceremony.

The names doing the rounds for the new chief minister include Parvesh Verma, who defeated AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal; former Delhi BJP presidents Vijender Gupta and Satish Upadhyay; and other leaders such as Pawan Sharma, Ashish Sood, Rekha Gupta and Shikha Rai.

The names of Ravinder Indraj Singh, the MLA from Bawana (SC) seat, and Kailash Gangwal, who won the Madipur (SC) seat for the BJP for the first time, are also being discussed.

Many within the party believe that the BJP leadership could choose a "dark horse" as Delhi's next chief minister, a strategy the party opted for in Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.