United States Senator Ben Cardin said on Friday that his approval to the sale of MQ-9 drones to India came following assurances from the Biden administration about steps taken to address alleged “transnational repression” by New Delhi.

On Thursday, the United States government approved the sale of 31 MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft along with related equipment to India at an estimated $3.99 billion, or Rs 33,060.14 crore. The approval by Cardin, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had led the United States government to notify the deal to the Congress.

On Wednesday, a report in The Wire said that the United States Congress had held back the delivery of the drones until India conducted a “meaningful investigation” into an alleged conspiracy involving an Indian government agent to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York.

Following this, the United States embassy in Delhi on Thursday said that the Biden administration was discussing with the US Congress the potential sale “consistent with standard processes and policies guiding such arm sales decisions”. “As part of the standard process, the State Department routinely engages foreign affairs committees prior to formal notification to address questions from committee staff,” an embassy spokesperson had said.

In a statement on Friday, Cardin said that his approval of the drone sale to India was “the result of months of painstaking discussions with the Biden administration”.

“While I’m fully aware of the significance of this sale for US 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 US soil,” Cardin said.

Cardin said that he has been assured by the Biden administration that New Delhi is committed to “thoroughly investigating the situation” and cooperating with the US Justice Department’s investigation “so that there is credible accountability in this case”.

He said that as the chairperson of the Senate’s foreign relations panel, he intends to hold Washington to these commitments.

On Wednesday, The Wire quoted an unidentified official in Washington as saying that the proposal to sell the drones was “stuck in the US Congress because of anger over the brazen attempt to assassinate Pannun”.

Pannun, who is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, is the founder of a group called Sikhs for Justice that advocates for Khalistan – an independent state for Sikhs. He was declared an “individual terrorist” under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in 2020.

The news website quoted the source as saying that Indian-American legislators in particular were concerned about the fallout of the indictment of Nikhil Gupta, an Indian citizen formally charged with conspiring to kill the Sikh separatist. Gupta is currently imprisoned in the Czech Republic, and the United States is seeking to extradite him.

US’ allegations

On November 29, the United States announced that it had filed “murder-for-hire charges” against Gupta in connection with the alleged thwarted plot to assassinate the Sikh separatist leader.

The US Attorney’s Office alleged that Gupta had been recruited by an Indian government employee, who “directed a plot to assassinate on US soil an attorney and political activist who is a US citizen of Indian origin residing in New York City”. Though the statement did not name the separatist leader, a report in the Financial Times on November 23 identified him as Pannun.

The US Justice Department also alleged that the plot was part of a larger conspiracy to kill one person in California and at least three in Canada.

New Delhi has constituted a high-level committee to examine the matter.

On December 15, five Indian-American members of the US House of Representatives, the lower chamber, said that the allegations, if not properly addressed, significantly damage the partnership between New Delhi and Washington DC.