US Ambassador to India resigned on Monday

The US ambassador to India resigned on Monday following a rift between the two countries. The announcement, made by Nancy Powell comes just before the Indian elections, where Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist, is expected to become prime minister.

The experienced diplomat has not given any reasons behind her decision except that she had ‘planned it for some time’. She further revealed her plan to retire by the end of May in Delaware, a US state.

According to a statement from the embassy, the diplomat tendered her resignation to President Barack Obama and made the announcement at a staff meeting in New Delhi.

Powell is now leaving after the December crisis between India and United States, where an Indian diplomat, Devyani Khobragade was arrested and strip-searched in New York. While the US diplomats expressed regret at the treatment, prosecutors still went ahead with an indictment.

Then in February, Powell took initiative by meeting Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujrat and the main candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Modi had earlier been turned down for the US visa on human rights grounds after he was criticized for ignoring the violence seen in the anti-Muslim riots of 2002.

Powell, a career diplomat, has served the US for 37 years as an envoy to countries like Ghana, Nepal, Uganda and Pakistan.

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Posted by Hunain Naseer on Apr 1 2014. Filed under Latest News, USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.