Indian-American lawmakers warn of damage to ties between nations over alleged 'plot to kill Pannun'

New Delhi: All the five Indian-American members of the United States House of Representatives on Friday came together to nudge New Delhi to hold people, including the officials of the Government of India, responsible for an alleged plot to assassinate a Khalistani Sikh extremist in New York.

They also stated that New Delhi should give an assurance to Washington DC that “this” (hatching plots to kill a US citizen in the US territory) would “not happen again”. They also warned that if India did not fully investigate and hold the people, including government officials, responsible for allegedly plotting the assassination in the US, it might cause “significant damage” to the relations between the two nations.

The Indian-American members of the American House of Representatives issued a joint statement, expressing concerns over the allegation by the US Department of Justice over the role of an official of the Government of India in a plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a leader of extremist organisation Sikhs for Justice, in New York.

Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Shri Thanedar issued the joint statement after receiving a classified briefing from President Joe Biden’s administration on the indictment of Nikhil Gupta, a citizen of India arrested in The Czech Republic, by the US prosecutors in connection with a foiled plot to kill the Khalistani Sikh extremist in New York. “We believe the US–India partnership has made a meaningful impact on the lives of both of our people, but we are concerned that the actions outlined in the indictment could, if not appropriately addressed, cause significant damage to this very consequential partnership,” said the five Indian-American members of the US House of Representatives.

“We appreciate the Administration providing us a classified briefing on the Department of Justice’s indictment of Nikhil Gupta, which alleges that an Indian government official engaged in a murder-for-hire plot of an American citizen,” Bera, Jayapal, Thanedar, Krishnamoorthy and Khanna stated. “As Members of Congress, the safety and well-being of our constituents is our most important priority”.

They added that the allegations made in the indictment of Nikhil Gupta were “deeply concerning”. “We welcome the Government of India’s announcement of a Committee of Enquiry to investigate the murder plot and it is critical that India fully investigate, hold those responsible, including Indian government officials, accountable, and provide assurances that this will not happen again.”

The allegation by Washington DC against New Delhi followed a similar claim by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government in Ottawa about the role of India in the June 18 killing of a Khalistani Sikh extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar at the parking lot of a gurdwara at Surrey in the British Columbia province of Canada. Though New Delhi dismissed the allegation, the Biden Administration has been nudging the Government of India to cooperate in the probe launched by the agencies of the Government of Canada in connection with the murder. It was also revealed that the US had provided intelligence inputs to help Canada accuse India of the killing of Nijjar.

New Delhi, however, was quick to launch a probe in the wake of the allegation by Washington DC that an official of the Government of India had engaged Nikhil Gupta, an Indian arrested from the Czech Republic by the US authorities, to hire a hitman to kill the secessionist Sikhs for Justice leader in New York.

Trudeau’s allegation was outrightly dismissed by New Delhi, but it triggered a diplomatic row, with both sides expelling each other’s diplomats and issuing tit-for-tat travel advisories. India called Canada a haven for terrorists and suspended issuing visas for Canadians. It, however, recently restarted issuing certain categories of visas for the citizens of Canada. New Delhi also made Ottawa downsize its high commission in the national capital of India and its consulates in other cities, leading to the departure of 41 diplomats of Canada.

New Delhi’s refusal to join the US-led West to condemn Russia for its military aggression against Ukraine had been an irritant in its relations with Washington DC since early 2022. But Modi’s landmark state visit to Washington DC and his meetings with Biden in the White House saw the US ending its technology denial regime for India in order to lessen the South Asian nation’s dependence on Russia for civilian and military technologies. A Modi-Biden bilateral meeting on the sideline of the G20 summit and the US help to India to have a consensus on G20 summit declaration despite the continuing Russia-Ukraine conflict further fueled speculation about the bilateral relations reaching a new height in 2023. But, contrary to expectation, the year is coming to its end with the US allegation against India over the plot to kill the Khalistani Sikh extremist and Biden turning down Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to attend the Republic Day ceremony in New Delhi in January 2024 as the chief guest and thus casting a shadow over ties.