Eric Garcetti, the US Ambassador to India during a panel discussion at the Carnegie ‘Global Technology Summit’ held in New Delhi, spoke about India-US relations, and said that the two nations are now dating each other.
The envoy also made mention of an upcoming visit by the FBI director next week. This visit comes amid a US federal investigation into an alleged plot to assassinate Sikh radical leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil.
He said that India was “the number one country she (US Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen) went to outside the United States. Four times this year. The Secretary of State (Antony Blinken) just came here for the third time. Secretary of Defence (Lloyd Austin) for the second time. The FBI director is here next week.”
The assassination plot
The US shared with India intel on the alleged scheme to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
The claims follow a Financial Times report that the US had thwarted an assassination attempt on the Sikh separatist leader. Reportedly, the nation also issued a “diplomatic warning” over concerns of the involvement of an Indian government official in the plot.
Citing people familiar with the case, the British daily also reported that US federal prosecutors had filed a sealed indictment against at least one alleged perpetrator of the plot in a New York district court.
As per the report, the US was debating whether to unseal the contents of the indictment or wait till Canada wraps up its investigation into the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Sikh separatist leader killed on Canadian soil earlier this year.
What is India doing about the alleged plot?
India, as per MEA Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, is taking US inputs “seriously” as they “impinge on our national security interests as well”.
He said that the relationship the two nations share is “multi-faceted” and “constantly evolving”.
As per Bagchi, relevant departments were examining the issue and the Government of India has constituted a high-level Enquiry Committee “to look into all the relevant aspects of the matter.” He also stated the GOI will take follow-up action based on the findings of the Enquiry Committee.
(With inputs from agencies)
