India

Recent row should not damage US-India ties: Zionist Rice

Recent row should not damage US-India ties

A senior aide to US President Barack Obama says Washington and New Delhi should not allow the dispute over an Indian diplomat to ‘derail the future’ that the two countries are working to build.

The row started after the New York police arrested and strip-searched 39-year-old Indian diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, on December 12, 2013.

Khobragade was expelled from the United States after being indicted by a New York court over visa fraud and under-paying a housekeeper.

Her arrest and mistreatment set off massive anti-US demonstrations across India. It also sparked reprisals, including the removal of protective barricades outside the US Embassy in New Delhi.

The Indian diplomat was later released on a $250,000 bail.

Addressing the Aspen Institute US-India Dialogue on Friday, Obama’s national security adviser, Susan Rice, said recent events had attracted more attention to disagreements between the two countries than cooperative efforts.

“But those difficulties should be minor compared to the breadth of our relationship and the magnitude of what we can accomplish together. We must also deal with our differences in a constructive manner, commensurate with a relationship of this importance,” she said.

Rice further said that India and the US could not allow such challenges “to derail the future we are working diligently to build — a future of greater prosperity, greater security, and consistent adherence to our shared values.”

On December 24, the Indian Foreign Ministry ordered the withdrawal of all special ID cards provided to US diplomats and their family members in India.

The ministry also downgraded the immunity they enjoyed and issued new ID cards specifying the restricted immunity.

Back to top button