Describing it as the "most significant partnership" traversing a "defining phase," Eric Garcetti, the United States Ambassador to India, emphasized on Tuesday that the current probe into an alleged conspiracy to assassinate Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun would not disrupt the relations between Washington and New Delhi.
Garcetti said the relationship could manage such incidents and added that actually they are a kind of litmus test whether the relationship can stand strong. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, he said the operations at the embassy and the Ministry of External Affairs and also the Indian Embassy in Washington were not affected despite the investigation proceeding against the operatives.
In November last year, US prosecutors had charged that the plotters had acted at the behest of an official in the Indian government to murder Pannun, a US citizen and the chief of the pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice.
Garcetti used the relationship between India and the US as the relationship between two spouses and said that once in a while, this conflict is bound to arise in the marital bond. But despite the challenge, the relationship continues to become more robust because of the desire on both sides, necessity, and commitment.
India had taken umbrage to certain reports in US media and urged not to make avoidable and baseless charges on a serious issue.
Last month, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the investigation by the High-Level Committee constituted by the Government of India on the security concerns raised by the US government regarding organized criminals, terrorists, and others requires being taken seriously. He said that speculative and irresponsible commentary is best avoided, and it should be left to constructive discussions.
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