India committed to rule of law: PM Modi on Pannun assassination plot

If any Indian citizen does 'anything good or bad', Delhi will look into it: Prime Minister tells FT

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Diplomatic ties between India and the US would not be derailed by "few incidents" and New Delhi will consider any information Washington provides on allegations of a plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist in New York, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an interview with a British business daily.

"Our commitment is to the rule of law," he told the Financial Times in his first comments about allegations that an unnamed Indian official ordered a hit on Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen and member of a US-based Sikh separatist group.

Modi said if any Indian citizen does "anything good or bad", New Delhi is ready to look into it.

India’s external affairs ministry has formed a committee to investigate allegations made in charges filed against Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill Pannun.

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Modi said that there was bipartisan support in the US for strengthening ties with India. US President Joe Biden has called the relationship "among the most consequential in the world".

Modi told FT that India was "deeply concerned" about foreign-based extremist groups that are allegedly working against India. "These elements, under the guise of freedom of expression, have engaged in intimidation and incited violence," he said.

He, however, added that it would not be appropriate that "few incidents" hurt diplomatic relations.

In September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the country was investigating whether India was behind the killing of another Sikh separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar was killed on June 18 in a parking lot in British Columbia.

New Delhi said the charges were "absurd" and asked 41 Canadian diplomats to leave India.