India PM Narendra Modi respond to murder allegation of US plot

• The US charged an Indian man with conspiracy to murder in New York in November.
• Modi emphasized that these allegations would not negatively impact India-US relations.
• He also expressed confidence in the positive trajectory of the bilateral relationship

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed willingness to thoroughly examine any evidence presented regarding the alleged involvement of India in a plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader in the United States. In November, the US charged an Indian man with conspiracy to murder in New York.

In an interview, Modi emphasized that these allegations would not negatively impact the diplomatic relations between India and the US. This marks the first instance of him publicly addressing the issue.

“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 prime minister told the newspaper.

The intended victim of the case is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun a dual US-Canadian citizen. He is known for supporting the Khalistan movement, which seeks a separate Sikh state. US prosecutors asserted that Nikhil Gupta paid $100,000 in cash to a hitman to assassinate Pannun.

While India has labeled Pannun as a terrorist, he denies this and identifies as an activist. These allegations emerged shortly after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of links to the murder of another Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead in Canada.

India vehemently denies these accusations and accuses Canada of sheltering “Khalistani terrorists and extremists.”  Delhi has consistently maintained that Ottawa has not provided substantial evidence to support the claims. The situation underscores the tensions and differing narratives between the two countries.

The diplomatic row has damaged India-Canada ties:

The Indian government has consistently responded strongly to the demands made by Sikh separatists in Western nations advocating for Khalistan.

In the 1980s, the Khalistan movement reached its peak in India. It was marked by a violent insurgency primarily in the Sikh-majority Punjab state. Although it was suppressed through force and has waned in influence within India. It still finds support among some members of the Sikh diaspora, especially in countries like Canada, Australia, and the UK.

Recent accusations of extra-judicial killings targeting Sikh separatists have raised concerns about potential strains on India’s growing relationship with the United States. Despite these challenges, Prime Minister Modi expressed confidence in the positive trajectory of the bilateral relationship in an interview with the Financial Times.

“There is strong bipartisan support for the strengthening of this relationship, which is a clear indicator of a mature and stable partnership,” he said.”I don’t think it is appropriate to link a few incidents with diplomatic relations between the two countries,” he added.

He also said that India was concerned about the “activities of certain extremist groups based overseas”

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