Prime Minister Narendra Modi has, for the first time, responded to allegations of an Indian assassination plot in the United States, saying he will “look into” any evidence, but a “few incidents” would not derail US-India ties.
In an interview with the Financial Times, he said: “If someone gives us any information, we would definitely look into it. If a citizen of ours has done anything good or bad, we are ready to look into it. Our commitment is to the rule of law.”
The US recently accused India of a plot to assassinate its citizen and the general counsel for the separatist group Sikhs for Justice Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. India has labelled Mr Pannun a terrorist.
Expressing deep concern over the activities of certain extremist groups based overseas, Mr Modi told the financial daily: “These elements, under the guise of freedom of expression, have engaged in intimidation and incited violence.
“Security and counter-terrorism co-operation has been a key component of our partnership (with the US). I don’t think it’s appropriate to link a few incidents with diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“We need to accept the fact that we are living in an era of multilateralism. The world is interconnected as well as interdependent. This reality compels us to recognise that absolute agreement on all matters cannot be a prerequisite for collaboration.”
Last month, the US Department of Justice unsealed an indictment that implicated an Indian government official for orchestrating the plot to assassinate Mr Pannun in June this year through Indian national Nikhil Gupta, who hired a hitman – an undercover agent for US law enforcement.
On Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said India’s ties with Canada may have undergone “a tonal shift” following the indictment of Gupta, who has been arrested in the Czech Republic.
“I think there is a beginning of an understanding that they can’t bluster their way through this, and there is an openness to collaborating in a way that perhaps they were less open to before,” Mr Trudeau told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
He said the US indictment appears to have convinced the Indian government to adopt a more sober tone.
“There’s an understanding that maybe just churning out attacks against Canada isn’t going to make this problem go away,” he said. “We don’t want to be in a situation of having a fight with India right now over this.
“We want to be working on that trade deal. We want to be advancing the Indo-Pacific strategy.
“But it is foundational for Canada to stand up for people’s rights, for people’s safety, and for the rule of law. And that’s what we’re going to do.”
The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Mr Trudeau’s allegations on Sept 18 of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia.
India had designated Nijjar a terrorist in 2020.
India rejected Mr Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.
Indo-Asian News Service
