Diplomatic ties between India and the US took a nosedive as New Delhi withdrew a number of privileges extended to US diplomats based in the country, in apparent retaliation to the shabby treatment accorded to its deputy consul in New York, Devyani Khobragade.
New Delhi responded like a wounded tigress on Tuesday, after news came in that Khobragade, who was arrested last week on charges of visa fraud, was not only handcuffed in public, but also strip-searched and detained in a cell with drug addicts. A visiting delegation of US Congressmen was snubbed by key Indian officials, including Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar, home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, NSA Shivshankar Menon and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.
What has India Done?
Withdrawn the Govt of India ID cards issued to US consular staff. Embassy staff gets to keep the cards. Apparent reasoning: US has made a distinction between consular staff and embassy staff & we are reciprocating
Withdrawn the airport access pass to US embassy officials. Apparent reasoning: US does not grant us this privilege
Duty exemption on import and export by the US embassy revoked. Apparent reasoning: US does not grant us this privilege
Approach road outside the US embassy in Delhi now opened for regular traffic
The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi tweeted that he had refused to meet the delegation to protest Khobragade’s treatment.
“It is completely unacceptable... We have put in motion what we believe will be an effective way to address this issue and protect her dignity... Everything that can be done, will be done,” External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said.
Delhi Police moved dramatically to remove the security cordon on the road in front of the US embassy in Chanakyapuri’s diplomatic enclave. The road in front of the embassy was secured after the 9/11 attacks as US embassies around the world were assessed to be terror targets.
Such hostile measures, usually the stuff of India-Pakistan ties, against the United States by Delhi is unprecedented and comes amid growing perception of a plateau in the arc of bilateral ties. The two democracies, not the best of friends during the cold war period when India was considered closer to the Soviet Union, had come closer during the Clinton and Bush eras, but of late the bonhomie of the last decade has been missing.
A State Department spokesperson in the US maintained that standard procedures were followed in the deputy consul’s arrest. “The State Department’s Diplomatic Security followed standard procedures during the arrest. After her arrest, she was passed on to the US Marshals for intake and processing. So for any additional questions on her treatment, I would refer you there,” State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said.
She also explained that under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the Indian deputy consul general enjoys immunity from the jurisdiction of US courts “only with respect to acts performed in the exercise of consular functions”. The Vienna Convention on Consular relations of 1963 is distinct from the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, and grants consular staff a relatively milder degree of diplomatic immunity. The matter of fact response of the state department spokesperson and the distinction between consular staff and diplomatic staff that has been sought to be made angered South Block further, leading to a flurry of activity Tuesday afternoon.
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