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Senator Ben Cardin, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said 'he had ended his 'hold' on the agreement now that President Joe Biden's administration agreed to fully investigate an Indian assassination plot on U.S. soil and that he would hold the administration to this commitment.
New Delhi: The Biden administration’s proposal to make a major armed drone sale to India – blocked by Congress two months ago over allegations that an Indian government agency sought to assassinate a US national on American soil – is finally going to move ahead, but only after a key Senator said he received assurances from the White House that the plot would be properly investigated.
“My approval of this sale was the result of months of painstaking discussions with the Biden administration,” Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland who chairs the pivotal Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement shared with The Wire on Friday:
“While I’m fully aware of the significance of this sale for U.S. national security and strategic interests, I have consistently conveyed my concerns regarding the timing of this sale to administration officials in light of the alleged murder-for-hire plot involving Indian officials to attempt to assassinate an American citizen on U.S. soil. I have been assured by the Administration that the Indian government is committed to thoroughly investigating the situation and fully cooperating with the U.S. Department of Justice investigation so that there is credible accountability in this case. As the Chairman of this committee, I fully intend to hold the Administration to these commitments.”
On Thursday Reuters quoted Senator Cardin, as saying he had released his ‘hold’ on the agreement now that the administration had agreed to fully investigate an Indian assassination plot on U.S. soil against Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
“I’ve had direct conversations with the administration. The administration has demanded that there be investigations and accountability in regards to the plot here in the United States and that there is accountability within India against these types of activities … and that has to be demonstrated,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill on Thursday. “So I’m confident that that process has been initiated by the Biden administration. And I have released my hold with regards to the sale of the drones.”
On January 31, The Wire reported on how the Pannun assassination plot had become an obstacle to the drone sale on the hill, quoting a source in Washington as saying, “The purchase is stuck in the US Congress because of anger over the brazen attempt to assassinate Pannun. US representatives have frozen the legislative movement needed for proceeding with the sale.”
India’s proposed purchase of US drones was first mooted way back in 2016. In December 2017, India’s defence minister at the time, Nirmala Sitharaman, told Parliament in response to an MP’s question: “Request for Information (RFI) for Predator ‘B’ Sea Guardian [drones] was issued to the US Office of Defence Cooperation on 14.11.2017 (November 14) and response is awaited.” The drone quest moved into high gear last June when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Washington on a state visit, with the government’s Defence Acquisition Council clearing the purchase.