Pannun row: Congress leaders tell govt to address US charges with ‘alacrity’, say case not same as Canada’s

The Congress and the government were largely on the same page when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pointed to the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.

Talking to The Indian Express, former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said the allegations by the US are worrisome given that the relationship between New Delhi and Washington has been excellent, unlike India-Canada ties.

“When it happened with Canada, we (India) reacted and said this is nonsense, this is rubbish, but there was a concern that the Five Eyes were sort of agreeing with Canada that there was need for some clarification and need for some investigation. We, of course, are still continuing to say that Canada has not given us enough evidence. There is no way of us judging from outside the government as to how much of this is correct.”

“But in isolation one incident and one event in Canada etc etc can be understood that there may be a difference of perception and that is causing this trouble. But now this is coming from the US… It is worrisome. Unlike our relations with Canada, which have been a little strained and stressed in the past, our relations with the US have been very smooth and very good,” he said.

“All I can say at this stage is that the government must address this with alacrity and with absolute sincerity. Because it is not an issue limited to the security of our country. It is also an issue which concerns our relationship with democracies in the world and therefore we have to be absolutely clear and direct in finding solutions to this. We must talk to the Americans, we must ask them to share with us everything they have and we must put a lid on this as quickly as possible,” he said.

Senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor echoed this. “It is a matter of grave concern that warrants a comprehensive internal inquiry,” he said. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said he would wait for the government to come out with a statement. “It has appointed a Committee but otherwise it is tight-lipped. Let’s wait for a statement,” he said. Congress communication head Jairam Ramesh too preferred silence for now.

While calling for a transparent probe, Khurshid underlined that it is a matter of great concern that people who pose a threat to India’s security and sovereignty are able to operate in Western democracies.

“There is a general concern about the extent to which people who we find unacceptable and who we are satisfied about regarding the threat they pose to Indian sovereignty and security, are able to operate in Western democracies… This must be said and has to be said, without exception, without any qualification,” he said.

“But when we go further than that and when we hear accusations from any part of the world, whether it is the US, Canada, the UK, any part of the world… when we hear accusations that we are proactively, or our representatives are proactively, trying to interfere with what the Western democracies consider to be entitlements and rights that citizens have — these are people who are largely citizens of those countries, and even if they were not, they have some kind of status in these countries — there would be a problem… This becomes a very troubling thing,” Khurshid said.

“And I do believe that we should have been extra careful about this. That we should not have allowed anybody to raise any questions about India’s conduct and India’s uprightness. Why this is happening is worrisome,” he said.

Asked about the probe panel formed by the government, he said: “What else can you do? You have to probe. The probe must be a credible one because it is not just a matter of convincing your own people but it is a matter of persuading world opinion. Therefore, the probe must be good, transparent and sincere, so that we can carry conviction with people across the globe.”