Senior U.S. administration officials have pushed back against the notion that the indictment of Indian citizens including a former Indian government employee in an alleged plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York and the charges against Indian businessman Gautam Adani for alleged securities and wire fraud have detracted from the strength of the U.S.-India relationship. Mr. Adani is perceived as being close to Mr. Modi.
The officials are not named as part of the agreed conditions for a briefing call that occurred on Tuesday.
“I think all we can really say is that this is a regulatory and law enforcement issue that’s best left to the agencies directly involved to speak to, and wouldn’t be appropriate for us to comment from either the White House or the State Department,” one official said, adding that the U.S.-India relationship was “in a very strong position”.
Another official said the bilateral relationship had become increasingly complex, diverse and deep and that it was inevitable there would be challenges on some occasions.
“The key is how we deal with those, and I can just assure you that we’ve had the deepest possible, appropriate consultation between the two sides. And I’m confident that we will be able to weather this appropriately,” they said.
One official said the relationship had developed “resilience” and maturity and open lines of communication to work through issues.
The Biden administration draws to a close on January 20 next year, when the incoming administration of Republican president-elect Donald Trump begins. It is unclear how the next administration would approach the issues of Pannun or Mr. Adani. While the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) is independent in theory, Mr. Trump’s remarks and nominations to the Department have raised concerns about a decline in its levels of independence.
It is likely that the Pannun case will be pursued enthusiastically under the Trump administration, with Mr. Trump’s appointment of Harmeet K. Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General, to head the DoJ’s civil rights division. Ms. Dhillon wrote on X in November 2023 that the Indian government was sending “death squads” to the U.S. and Canada to target North American Sikhs who were speaking about “civil and human rights conditions in Punjab”.
Published – December 19, 2024 10:17 pm IST
