In a first, PM Modi breaks silence on Khalistani terrorist Pannun's assassination plot on US soil
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New Delhi, Dec 20: Breaking silence over Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun's assassination plot by India on US soil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has, for the first time, responded to these allegations saying he will “look into” any evidence but a “few incidents” would not derail US-India ties.
In an interview with the Financial Times, PM Modi said, “If someone gives us any information, we would definitely look into it. If a citizen of ours has done anything good or bad, we are ready to look into it. Our commitment is to the rule of law.”
This came after the US had recently accused India of an assassination plot against its citizen and the general counsel for the separatist group Sikhs for Justice, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. India has labelled Pannun a terrorist.
Expressing deep concern over the activities of certain extremist groups based overseas, PM Modi told the financial daily, “These elements, under the guise of freedom of expression, have engaged in intimidation and incited violence. There is strong bipartisan support for the strengthening of this relationship, which is a clear indicator of a mature and stable partnership.”
“Security and counter-terrorism co-operation has been a key component of our partnership. I don’t think it is appropriate to link a few incidents with diplomatic relations between the two countries. We need to accept the fact that we are living in the era of multilateralism,” Modi said. “The world is interconnected as well as interdependent. This reality compels us to recognise that absolute agreement on all matters cannot be a prerequisite for collaboration.”
Assassination plot allegations made by United States
Last month, the US Department of Justice had revealed that a serving Indian government official had orchestrated the plot and seeking to assassinate Pannun in June this year through Gupta. They claimed Gupta hired a hitman who turned out to be an undercover agent for US law enforcement. As a response, India acknowledged that it had received inputs from the US and announced the constitution of a high-level investigation committee to examine the issue.
However, both India and the US are natural allies and strategic partners. Both the countries know each other very well and can talk about anything they want to. After this whole alleged plot was unearthed in June, US President Joe Biden had come to India for G20. Last month, 2+2 dialogue was held in New Delhi.