India battles ‘rogue’ label after allegations of assassination
New Delhi - When Canada accused India of killing a citizen on its soil, New Delhi dismissed the allegations as "absurd". Relations plunged and diplomats were expelled. This week, after an Indian national was charged with plotting to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader in the US, commentators noted New Delhi's response to its superpower ally and largest trading partner was "starkly different".
Indian foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said it was a "matter of concern" and a special committee had been set up, the Hindustan Times wrote in an editorial this week.
For PM Narendra Modi -- who revelled in centrestage attention hosting G20 leaders in September -the assassination allegations threaten to puncture well-crafted efforts to burnish his image abroad.
"It will create a greater wariness in dealing with Modi," said Hartosh Singh Bal, executive editor at The Caravan magazine, suggesting the charges would result in a reduction of intelligence sharing with New Delhi. "What India stands accused of is rogue behaviour and it will leave allies unwilling to trust a leadership that is willing to act so."
While Washington has embraced India as an ally in the face of a rising China, accusations of murder plots threaten to throw the relationship off balance.
For Hindu nationalist leader Modi, seeking reelection next year, the reports may serve to bolster an image of strength to his fans. Once the dust settles, India's strengths -- as the fifth-largest economy and world's most populous country -- mean Modi will likely be able to brush off the impact.