M A I N   N E W S

US envoy to India Nancy Powell resigns
Ashok Tuteja
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 31
US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell tonight resigned from her post days after reports in the media stated that she would be replaced soon. An announcement by the American Embassy said: “Nancy J Powell announced in a US Mission Town Hall meeting on March 31 that she has submitted her resignation to President Obama and, as planned for some time, will retire to her home in Delaware before the end of May.”

She thanked those in India who have extended traditional warm Indian hospitality to her and who have supported stronger bilateral ties.

Her resignation came amid suggestions that she might be replaced by a political appointee who could give an impetus to the ties between the two nations, once a new government assumes office in New Delhi.

Unlike her predecessors, Powell kept a very low profile during her two years in office in New Delhi, leading to cooling of relations between the two nations.

She has also been blamed for Washington maintaining a hardline on Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi even after the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom started courting him after boycotting him for years over the 2002 Gujarat riots. In February, the US ended its boycott of Modi and Powell flew to Gandhinagar to meet the Gujarat Chief Minister. In December, Powell maintained a studied silence when India and the US were involved in a diplomatic row.

‘No differences’