Launch diplomatic offensive against US

The arrest of Deputy Consular General Devyani Khobragade reflects the US highhandedness and tendency to impose its over lordship on the citizens and officials of other countries. The US authorities arrested Deputy Consul General Devyani Khobragade in public on charges of visa fraud. 39-year-old Khobragade, a 1999-batch IFS officer, was taken into custody last week on a street in New York as she was dropping her daughter to school and handcuffed in public on visa fraud charges before being released on a USD 250,000 bond after pleading not guilty in court. The US authorities have deliberately let down the prestige of India by arresting Khobragade in public on the street of Newyork. There has been sharp reaction and public outrage all over India over the undignified behaviour meted to Indian consular IFS Devyani Khobragade in US. India must take it very seriously and ask the US that no relation is more important than its prestige. The US authorities must have thought that given the good and friendly relation with India, their rude and undignified behaviour would cause sharp public outrage and could strain in the relation between the two couuntries. If the US authorities had given any importance to US relation with India, they would not have mistreat Devyani Khorbragade. It is right that Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi did not meet the US delegation visiting India. India’s sentiment is so hurt and bruised over this type of Shoddy treatment to Indian Consular by US officials that Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar also did not meet the US delegation. Diplomatic row between the two nations is bound to arise. US is only required to know that it must not treat India so lightly as it treats other countries of the world. Self dignity, civility and gentlemanliness are kept above all considerations in India. How the US authorities dared insult an Indian woman IFS officer in public. Why did not they consult with high-ups in the Indian Embasssy in US before arresting Deputy consular General Devyani Khobragade? India must raise the issue of dignity with the US at the highest level as soon as possible and ask to behave with it on equal footing. The action of the US authorities is completely unacceptable to India. India has rightly said that it has taken very seriously the treatment meted out to its Deputy Consul General in New York Devyani Khobragade by the US authorities and that it has put in motion the process to deal with the issue in an effective way.