New Delhi: Calling it the “most consequential relationship” that is passing through a “historic era”, US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, asserted in May that the ongoing investigation into an alleged plot to assassinate Sikh radical Gurpatwant Singh Pannun will not affect ties between Washington and New Delhi.

“How we manage those moments defines the strength of a relationship... I would say our work every single day at the embassy, every single day at the Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian Embassy in Washington, has not slowed down one bit,” Garcetti told NDTV in an exclusive interview.

In November 2023, the US prosecutors had alleged a foiled plot to assassinate Pannun, a US citizen and head of the pro-Khalistan outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), on behalf of an Indian government employee. Likening the India-US relationship to a marriage, which has its share of inevitable fights and disagreements, Garcetti added: “It continues to accelerate because we want this relationship, we need this relationship, and we have this relationship.”

Criticising certain reports in the US media, India has maintained that “unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations” on a serious matter should be avoided. “There is an ongoing investigation of the High-Level Committee set up by the Government of India to look into the security concerns shared by the US government on networks of organized criminals, terrorists, and others. Speculative and irresponsible comments on it are not helpful,” Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said in April 2023.