Flaring of tempers comes atop much simmering trouble on clashing views; these stands might now get frozen.
India on Monday made it clear to the United States that it cannot be "business as usual" between the two sides till the Devyani Khobragade issue is resolved.
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Victims decry Ministry of External Affairs' 'vengeful' decision to stop them from leaving the country if they have a 'T' visa (Trafficking category) affixed on their passports. George Joseph/Rediff.com reports
'A senior US diplomat last week asked me when things will go back to normal. I had to tell her that if normalcy meant getting back these perks, it is not going to happen for a very long time, if ever at all,' says Mohan Guruswamy. 'For the Indian public now is outraged that US diplomats have enjoyed all these winking at the rulebook.'
Indian High Commission staff in Pakistan are being subjected to "intrusive surveillance" and "tailing" by intelligence personnel of that country, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday.
India is making every attempt to ensure that the United States drops all charges against IFS officer Devyani Khobragade.
Angered by the treatment meted out to Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday rescinded its invitation to the US Consulate in Mumbai to attend Narendra Modi's rally in the city on Sunday.
India on Tuesday said it has taken "very seriously" the treatment meted out to its Deputy Consul General in New York Devyani Khobragade by the United States authorities and that it has "put in motion" the process to deal with the issue in an "effective way".
S Jaishankar took charge as foreign secretary, replacing Sujatha Singh, on Thursday.
Jaipuria has not specified the amount he is looking to raise, but says this is the right time to tap the capital markets.
Ignoring the United States viewpoint, India has refused to consider the Devyani Khobragade episode as "closed", saying there are "residual" issues which need to be addressed.
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The United States said it "deeply regretted" that India felt it necessary to expel an American diplomat after senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade was asked to leave the country following her indictment in a visa fraud case.
S Jaishankar, the new Indian Ambassador to the US, will arrive in Washington on Tuesday to take charge amid a raging diplomatic row over the arrest and strip-search of senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade on visa fraud charges.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday said invitation extended to the United States consul general in Mumbai for Narendra Modi's Sunday rally will not be recalled following the outrage over the treatment meted out to Indian diplomat Deyani Khobragade which it termed as "unacceptable".
US diplomats and their families in India will not be able to avail special treatment at the airports from Thursday night when the deadline expires for surrendering their special passes, as part of government's retaliatory action against the treatment meted out to diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York.
Given the upsurge of emotions over the unfairness of Section 377, Mr Sinha has displayed insensitivity towards the LGBT community. For this, he deserves a Boo!
The United States on Tuesday virtually justified the reported strip search by New York police of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, saying "standard procedures" have been followed during her arrest.
The United States is proceeding with the prosecution of senior Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade and has no intention to withdraw the case of visa fraud against her.
A diplomatic passport does not necessarily give one diplomatic immunity, pointed out New York-based attorney Anand Ahuja, while commenting on the arrest -- and subsequent release -- of Devyani Khobragade, India's deputy consul general in New York on Thursday.
'One wonders why there is so much outrage about the alleged treatment of the Indian national accused of perpetrating these acts, but precious little outrage about the alleged treatment of the Indian victim and her spouse?' The statement issued by Preet Bharara, the US Attorney, whose office is prosecuting Devyani Khobragade, the Indian diplomat arrested in New York last week.
The US has said that it was time to get past the recent tensions with India and the two sides should move on, days after arrest of an American police officer at New Delhi airport for possessing bullets. "We've said we want to get past some of the tensions that have been there over the past several months and move on," state department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said.
The United States has said that in-person registration of domestic workers of foreign diplomats would be mandatory, an apparent fallout of the arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade over alleged misrepresentation of the salary paid to her maid.
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The United States has refuted media reports that said its embassy and consulates in India are paying lower wages to the Indian staff employed there or violating any local laws in paying them.
A Bahrainian envoy has been booked in Mumbai for allegedly molesting the woman manager of his housing society but not arrested due to the diplomatic immunity he enjoys, police said on Wednesday.
Amidst a row over the arrest of a senior Indian diplomat on visa fraud charges, a top American lawmaker has asked Secretary of State John Kerry why no action was taken against dozens of Russian diplomats allegedly defrauding United States government's benefits programmes.
Ignoring diplomatic protocol, United States Secretary of State John Kerry had telephoned National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon to discuss the row over the arrest of an Indian diplomat after he was told that his Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid was busy in Parliament.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Tuesday cancelled his meeting with a senior United States Congressional delegation ostensibly as a mark of protest against the treatment meted out to India's deputy consul general in New York.
'While the Khobragade affair has "upset and diverted attention, it does not mean there is a fundamental flaw in the US-India relationship",' former American envoy Frank Wisner tells Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa.
Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade has requested a court here to extend the deadline for charging her in a visa fraud case, saying the "pressure of the impending" deadline is interfering with the ability of the parties to have meaningful discussions on the issue.
The United States has agreed with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the arrest of an Indian diplomat has caused hiccups in bilateral ties, but said it is now focused on getting the relationship back on really strong footing.
'Evacuating' Devyani's maid's family from India on T visas -- associated with severe sex or labour trafficking... The maximum number of persons thus evacuated by the US from foreign countries last year was from India... A thorough investigation of this is required at India's end,' says former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal, 'with the US warned that such interference in India's judicial system will not be tolerated.'
The external affairs ministry on Friday did not rule out any further disciplinary action against senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade, who had hit the headlines last year after being arrested in the US in a visa fraud case.
No theory would ever justify the public humiliation of the acting head of the consulate of a friendly country. Whatever be the eventual solution, grievous damage has been done to her personally and to the relations between the two countries, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The February 13 meeting between Nancy Powell, who quit as United States ambassador to India on Monday, and Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate, was frosty enough to convince the Roosevelt House (the official address of the US embassy in New Delhi) and the White House in Washington DC that much had to be done before US diplomats could aspire to any significant access to a Modi-led government in India.
Devyani Khobragade's lawyer on Wednesday said the United States authorities goofed up in the investigation and arrest of the Indian diplomat on visa fraud charges as a federal agent made a "serious" mistake in reading the paperwork submitted regarding her maid's salary.
In a tough reciprocal action, India on Tuesday downgraded the immunity of certain category of American diplomats and withdrew the immunity enjoyed by their family members, in a fallout of the arrest of a senior Indian diplomat in New York.
Indian-American Congressman Dr Amerish Bera feels that an apology will help India and the United States work through any misunderstandings. Aziz Haniffa reports from Washington, DC
The United States has voiced hope that the ongoing crisis with India over the arrest of a senior Indian diplomat in December will come to a closure and expressed its wish to get back to business and take bilateral ties forward.
Indian employees of the United States embassy and consulates in India are being grossly underpaid in comparison to their American counterparts working in these missions, according to information made available to the government.
"Something will happen", said External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Sunday on the prospects of an early resolution of the stand-off arising out of the arrest of senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade in the United States.
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