Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna Pushes for CAATSA Waiver to India

Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna.

(Photo: Twitter/Ro Khanna)

Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna has pushed for a waiver for India with regards to the Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), despite Delhi's reliance on Moscow for military imports, ANI reported on Thursday, 7 July.

A leader from the Democratic Party representing California, Khanna said, "While India faces immediate needs to maintain its heavily Russian-built weapons systems, a waiver to sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act during this transition period is in the best interests of the United States and the US-India defence partnership to deter aggressors in light of Russia and China's close partnership."

He also said that such a waiver was in the best interests of the defence ties between the US and India, which would ultimately benenfit the former as well.

Khanna introduced an amendment to ensure that the US "take additional steps to encourage India to accelerate India's transition of Russian-built weapons and defence systems while strongly supporting India's immediate defence needs."

This is not the first time that an American lawmaker has made such a request to President Biden.

In October last year, two members of the US Senate requested President Joe Biden to not sanction India under CAATSA for purchasing military equipment from Russia.

(With inputs from ANI.)