‘Will be able to weather this…’: Biden admin on Adani, Pannun indictments impacting India-US ties

India and the US would be able to weather the challenges that have emerged to their relationship from the Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and Gautam Adani indictments, said a senior administration official. “I'm confident that we will be able to weather this appropriately,” said a senior administration official, responding to a question about the two indictments’ impact on the India-US relationship. 

“Many people say that that kind of casts a shadow on the relationship and it raises questions about trust (between India and US) once again…I would just simply say the relationship is increasingly complex, increasingly diverse and increasingly deep. It is the case that invariably, we will reach occasions of challenges on both sides, and the key is how we deal with those,” said the official.

“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,” the official said.

The US Department of Justice accused an Indian official of being involved in a plan to kill Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. In September, a US court had also summoned the Indian government following a suit by Pannun who claimed that there was a plot to murder him. 

Last year, reports of the US thwarting a plot to kill Pannun who heads the radical outfit, Sikhs for Justice, made headlines. Biden administration officials later confirmed this too. The External Affairs Ministry had said that India launched a high-level probe in the matter.

Meanwhile, Gautam Adani and his conglomerate has been accused by the Department of Justice of being part of a scheme to pay over Rs 2,100 crore bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts.

The Adani Group responded to the allegations and said that all the charges are baseless and denied. They said that all possible legal recourse will be sought. 

A second senior administration official also described the indictments are regulatory, and stated that India-US “relationship is in a very strong position”.