Modi Says India Will 'Look Into' Assassination Plot Allegations Levelled By U.S.
'I don’t think it is appropriate to link a few incidents with diplomatic relations between the two countries,' Modi says.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, responding for the first time to allegations of Indian plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader in the U.S., said his government would look into any information shared with it.
"If someone gives us any information, we would definitely look into it" as the nation's commitment is to the rule of law, Modi said in an interview to the Financial Times. “If a citizen of ours has done anything good or bad, we are ready to look into it," the FT quoted him as saying.
The prime minister, however, said that it would not affect India's ties with the U.S., according to the report. "I don’t think it is appropriate to link a few incidents with diplomatic relations between the two countries."
Modi underscored that the security and counter-terrorism cooperation had been one of the key components for the partnership between the two nations.
The FT had earlier reported that the U.S. thwarted the plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Khalistani extremist designated as a terrorist by India in 2020. At the time, India had said that it has taken U.S. inputs "seriously".
Earlier, India rejected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of involvement of "agents of India" in the killing of another Sikh separatist on the Canadian soil.
Modi told the FT that India is “deeply concerned" about extremist groups based overseas who "under the guise of freedom of expression, have engaged in intimidation and incited violence".
