India has decided not to renew privileges enjoyed by American diplomats in the country even as the US is reviewing the paperwork it received from the United Nations about the diplomatic accreditation of senior Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade arrested early this month on visa fraud charges in New York. In tough reciprocal action on Tuesday, India downgraded the immunity of certain category of US diplomats and withdrew the immunity enjoyed by their family members.
The India’s decision not to turn the clock back clearly showed that the India-US relation remained strained and New Delhi was not ready to play second fiddle in the bilateral ties.
As per the reciprocal actions, India has decided to issue new ID cards to US consular officials in four consulates in the country. The cards will specify the limited immunity, which will not protect them from serious offences. This is in line with the restricted immunity given to India’s Consular officials in the US.
Similarly, the families of American consular officials will no longer have diplomatic ID cards, an out-of-way privilege enjoyed by them in India.
The family members of Indian Consulate officials in the US are also not provided with such cards, they noted and cited the example of arrest of Krittika Biswas, daughter of the vice-counsel at the Indian Consulate in Manhattan, Debashish Biswas, in 2011 when the US State Department categorically said the family members of Indian consular officials do not have immunity.
The sources further said the US consular staff will now only be permitted to import their requirements during the first six months on assuming office as is provided in the Vienna Convention for Consular Relations. Previously, they were allowed to import their requirements over the three-year period of tenure.
India had also given December 23 as the deadline to the US Embassy to file the visa and other key details of the Indians employed by it and its officers. This information includes salary being paid to domestic helps employed by US diplomats in India. “The data regarding US schools, which has been received, is being analysed and assessed,” the sources said.
However, the sources dismissed the concerns regarding security of US diplomatic officials in India. “India takes its obligations under the Vienna Convention very seriously and there has not been any loosening of security. There is no change in the security situation and all US diplomatic and consular officials are being provided security as before,” they said.
The sources added that changes have been made in traffic movement patterns and no change has been made in security status of US Embassy in New Delhi and the security personnel remain deployed at check posts there.
Meanwhile, new agency PTI from Washington quoted US State Department spokesman saying, “We received the paperwork from the United Nations late on Friday. It is under review.” The spokesperson, however, refused to divulge any detail about the time the State Department would take to review the paperwork or if the entire paperwork was in order and when Khobragade would receive her identity card.