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NEW DELHI: An Indian diplomat at the centre of a bitter row with the United States has been stripped of her duties over unauthorised statements to media, a government source and reports said Saturday.
Devyani Khobragade was arrested and strip-searched in New York last December while serving as India's deputy consul-general on charges of mistreating her servant.
She had denied the charge and subsequently returned to India, but the incident triggered fury in New Delhi and led to the resignation of then US ambassador Nancy Powell.
Reports on Saturday said Khobragade has been removed from her current post in the foreign ministry for an unauthorised media interview and for not disclosing that her children held US passports.
“The reports are not incorrect. It is true that she has been placed on compulsory wait,” a source in the ministry told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that Khobragade now faces an administrative inquiry.
Compulsory wait implies that Khobragade remains in ministerial service but without a specific job.
The action comes a week after the mother-of-two spoke to NDTV news channel about her arrest and strip search in New York.
During the interview, Khobragade said that her “kids were born in the US and are considered US citizens”, a statement that reportedly took the ministry by surprise.
Khobragade returned to India under a deal a month after her December 2013 arrest for allegedly paying a domestic worker a fraction of the minimum wage and for lying about the employee's salary in a visa application.
The row between the two countries saw weeks of feisty exchanges that strained bilateral ties and left resentment on both sides.
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Comments (83) Closed
Dec 20, 2014 12:48pm
Good Decision. She had lost credibility long ago.
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Dec 20, 2014 12:50pm
Why blaming her? Just dig in and you will find every second politician holding second citizenship.
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Dec 20, 2014 01:02pm
Is she not the same person...who not long ago was hailed as a hero by BJP and Indian government...and US diplomats were given tough by the Indian government because of her ongoing investigation...apparently BJP and Indian government were wrong in defending her and should apologize to the US government...
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Dec 20, 2014 01:06pm
Stupid reason initiated to move forward. now they are telling her she kept it a secret. but seriously everyone knows that if you are born in USA, you are considered natural born citizen. Especially gvnmt officials know that. Modi wants to move forward with the US and is sacrificing one of his own
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Dec 20, 2014 01:10pm
many Indian diplomats do this fraud
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Dec 20, 2014 01:26pm
@Naxalite Her children, if born IN the US are US citizens by definition/ by birth. Nothing wrong with that. There is more here than is obvious.
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Dec 20, 2014 01:36pm
we are Indians we supported her since her position represented India now that we know that she brought discredit to the country by manipulating things for her personal gain we stripped her of her responsibilities pending investigation ..... This can happens only in India :)
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Dec 20, 2014 01:42pm
The difference is that she was fully supported by previous Govt. in her crimes due to her father who is considered to be close to the Gandhi family. Now with Govt. support gone she attempted to push the limits once more but the current Govt. took serious note of the actions.
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Dec 20, 2014 01:45pm
@Naxalite: Please do not compare Pakistan with India. Indians cannot hold the citizenship of any other country by law. Therefore none of our politicians hold citizenship of any other country.
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Dec 20, 2014 01:46pm
@Tamza : main reason given here is that She spoke to media about the US issue. And also, there is issue regarding her maid not been paid properly
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Dec 20, 2014 01:52pm
Good move, it was long due.. Syed Akbaruddin did a good job finally.
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Dec 20, 2014 01:54pm
@Tamza That's not right! Children born to overseas do not automatically get that country's residence. In most countries it depends on the parents nationality. And even if they do get the citizenship, a diplomat is obliged to declare the same to the concerned embassy.
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Dec 20, 2014 01:55pm
What has she done that no other politician has done? A scapegoat. She probably told Bharara to take a hike and hence these bogus charges.
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Dec 20, 2014 01:55pm
I'm happy the way this case is going. Devyani acted illegally while in the US. She should be punished as per US law. That's just fair
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Dec 20, 2014 01:56pm
@Naxalite In India we don't allow people to have duel citizenship, that is the reason the richest Briton Laxmi Mittal still holds Indian citizenship in-spite of being the richest in UK....!!
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Dec 20, 2014 02:06pm
This women brought shame to India and to the nation, for mistreating maid, breaking the laws of US
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Dec 20, 2014 02:10pm
@Javed Correct. She is pushing limits without realizing that once it becomes public knowledge, her wrongs cannot be compartmentalized into "this issue" versus" that issue not relevant here". Secondly once she has come into the limelight, then she has to be circumspect especially given her high profile and the huge impact potential with a key ally and potential embarrassment but she chooses to keep her case alive by going on media which is insane given the extremely bad reputation of her father and now herself. She needs to realize that it does not matter if other Indians or diplomats do similar things or other elite indians are corrupt too or if MEA procedures are sloppy, the fact remains that she has come to become the public face of the Indian elite and she must suffer the consequences.
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Dec 20, 2014 02:16pm
@Tamza her children also had Indian diplomatic passports. India doesn't allow dual citizenship so they cannot hold another passport if they carry an Indian one. She commited fraud and should be jailed according to Indian law.
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Dec 20, 2014 02:21pm
@Tamza
No, she should have kept their Indian citizenship.
If she was married to a US citizen, then I can understand the children either being US or Indian.
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Dec 20, 2014 02:25pm
@Jason Actually her husband is an American citizen. So their children might be considered as Americans. This stripping of duties is a disciplinary measure because of the reckless interview she gave to the press. Also there are some other frauds coming up against her name.
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Dec 20, 2014 03:01pm
@ANT the children had the rights to an American passport coz their dad had one. But the issue here is the fact that Devyani failed to declare that they had an American passport as well as Indian.
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Dec 20, 2014 03:21pm
@Ahmed USA no she was was never our hero. We objected and were disgusted for strip search,cavity search,placing with drug criminals, arresting her in front of her children school despite her being diplomat. You don't treat representative of a country in such a manner especially woman if she has diplomatic immunity. That was the anger all about not her charges. Had the treatment not happened indian public could care less what law she broke. But even charges against her were disputable. Because their indian contract was proof. She was working under govt of india. So she is not liable to follow amercian law salary conditions but indian. She is supposed to follow indian laws and contracts signed in india. She was not Americas criminal but india's. Where she has dual passport(not allowed) and own a flat in "Adarsh building scam" where bureuecrats and politicians snatched flats meant for war widows. Now she was stripped of duty because as per our laws civil servants can't speak to media, unless you are authorised and granted permission. She voilated this code of conduct too.
Our only issue was the treatment mended to her. And that he case holds no merit there. But that doesn't mean she is innocent. Because she broke many laws in India and is answerable for it.
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Dec 20, 2014 03:25pm
@Muhammad Arshad
In general r children will not be considered US citizens becos...she is an indian citizen and on A1 visa to US. Anyone who is born is US is a US citizen except chikdren of embassy diplomats. They are not considered US citizens for obvious reasons: their parents are diplomats of another country. Suppose if embassy officials in pakistan gave birth to children, they r still considered americans not pakistanis.
However in Devyani's case...her husband us US Citizen and she is NOT....thats why the children can be citizens of both countries. But for obvious reasons she preferred US citizenship for her children.
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Dec 20, 2014 03:42pm
Why was she not punished paying her servants lesser wages than declared amount in Indian law at first place? Do they not have labourer protection laws? Or labourer rights are less important than dual citizenship issue?
I think Indian Govt unnecessarily supported her at first place and created unnecessary rift with US diplomats. Their attitude demonstrates common class differences and vip culture in developing world that allows elites to ruin basic rights of weak and poor.
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Dec 20, 2014 03:49pm
how the high and mighty are humbled - I mean both this lady and the present indian government first time the government of india admiiting that one of them can do any wrong . One more doffs his cap to uncle sam, hegemony rules , I don't see the maid servant who was wronged in America any where in this equation I am sure in the great land of the free and brave any one can sue any one even a foreign diplomat for the slightest wrong perceived or real by the common man, hey some one tell the maid servants her rights and relegate this issue where it belongs .Other wise its wonderful to see how the cookie crumbles - indian government currying favour with the americans
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Dec 20, 2014 04:15pm
@Ramesh Manghirmalani
Not just every indian politician does this.... It's a regional problem... Pakistani politician are not far away from their indian counterpart!!
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Dec 20, 2014 04:26pm
@Naxalite - Sir, India does not allow duel citizenship. In this case the person's kids are US citizens and that's why she has been punished. She herself is an Indian citizen. In our Parliament you will not find even a single case of duel citizenship. It's not allowed by law.
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Dec 20, 2014 04:29pm
@Ahmed USA - Sir, we do what is in the interest of our country at that point in time. Yesterday, fighting US for her was beneficial. Today, it's not. Modi is an Indian and we don't share a secondary position relationship with anyone.
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Dec 20, 2014 04:38pm
@Jason : you have little idea of US laws.
If the baby is born in USA, irrespective of what the parent's nationalities are, the baby gets a US passport.
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Dec 20, 2014 04:39pm
The guilty should be punished. Simple.
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Dec 20, 2014 04:42pm
@Jason well the US does grant automatic citizenship to those born in the US.
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Dec 20, 2014 04:45pm
@Ahmed USA get your facts correctly, verify and then type your thoughts. It wasn't bjp, it was upa which fought her case. As far as apologizing, let's start with US on Gitmo detainees.
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Dec 20, 2014 04:46pm
@Ahmed USA we Pakistanis apologize to Ahmed USA. satisfied?
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Dec 20, 2014 05:02pm
This is actually what she deserved on day one. Justice delayed is justice denied.
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Dec 20, 2014 05:04pm
@Independent no they don't! I live in Florida and have a 2 yr old who was born here when both me n my wife were NOT US citizens...checkmate!
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Dec 20, 2014 05:05pm
@zaib . True. Indians had to bent the knees in front of the Americans. They may think they are flying high but ...
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Dec 20, 2014 05:05pm
She and her corrupt father. are congress agents and are involved in the Adarsh Scam.. where they allegedly usurped flats alloted for deceased Kargil heroes .... Good that my govt. is side lining such people .. We are with you Modi ji ...
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Dec 20, 2014 05:18pm
@Vaibhav Bhatt hmmm the plot thickens............
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Dec 20, 2014 05:21pm
echoes of the sashi- mahr affair in this one.
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Dec 20, 2014 05:26pm
By the way, She, along with her father, holds flats in the famous Adarsh Society. Her father seems to be the main culprit of the Adarsh scam.
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Dec 20, 2014 05:30pm
@Jason actually, being born in the US automaically makes you a natural born citizen. By virtue of getting a US borth cerrificate...it doesnt matter if the parents sre US cirizens or not. Are there visitiñg legally, or even illegal immigrants. The only option.is to formally renounce your citizenship, and before that, not apply for a US passport if you so desire.
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Dec 20, 2014 06:04pm
I would like to know the out come of Adarsh Scam case.
She and her father must be punished for that corruption and cheating for an expensive house.
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Dec 20, 2014 06:09pm
@Independent
NO
The parents must be in a certain kind of Visa for children to get US citizenship.
Ex:
1. If some one is on 6 month tourist visa and gives birth to child in US, the child gets no US citizenship.
2. A woman on student visa and gives birth to a child do not get US citizenship.
The parent must be on a working visa to get the born kid to qualify for US citizenship or must be one of the parent be a US citizen.
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Dec 20, 2014 06:13pm
@Muhammad Arshad yes, they can be us citizens, but they can be Indian citizens too. The problem is she took both passports for the children, and that is illegal. India doesnot offer dual citizenship like Pakistan.
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Dec 20, 2014 06:49pm
She is corrupt to the core.
First underpaid maid at US.
And then her name figured in Adarsh society housing scam at Mumbai.
At least Indian govt saved you to bring India in the light of going to be jailed at US and then breaking civil services rules , you go public in media without having any second thought.
There are more things to come against you. She is trying to portray herself a victim, when she is an oppressor and involved in housing scam as well.
There is nothing wrong if current government goes ahead in punishing her.
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Dec 20, 2014 06:56pm
US acted against diplomat law, India opposed. Whole countries prestige was at stake. That was correct. Backi n India things were different. She already had pending issues. favouritism, corruption, lie etc etc. The moment she gave reason, she was punished. I mean lots of execs get such orders, why to make fuzz on her case? Ya - she would like to be in lime light.
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Dec 20, 2014 06:58pm
So now she is getting paid for not working?
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Dec 20, 2014 07:05pm
@Muhammad Arshad
A child born to Non immigrant Indian parents has citizenship of both countries and they choose by age of 19 years which citizenship they want to retain. Ms. Khobraghade was distorting facts, and should have known better. I think she should face the music for misleading statements and the actions that flow from there.
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Dec 20, 2014 07:21pm
she has the government job...work or no work she will get salary... she needed the boot long time ago
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Dec 20, 2014 07:23pm
When she was arrested and stripped searched in New York City the District Attorney in charge was a Sikh American. I believe there was an element of revenge for the Sikh genocide of 1984. She was berated and humiliated.
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Dec 20, 2014 07:28pm
I remember BJP supported her as the daughter of India. Now new understanding with US first strip her off the diplomatic immunity and then send her to the US to face trial. Poor people are always pawns in the game of leaders...
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Dec 20, 2014 07:30pm
@Jason - you are wrong! As 'Indepent' already pointed out, regardless of one's parent' nationality, all children born in the US to non-diplomatic parents automatically qualify for US citizenship. Thereafter, whilst initially the parents choose the child' nationality, the child upon turning 18, can decide (if they so desire) which nationality to ultimately choose/keep. Pls do not misstate facts on public forums.
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Dec 20, 2014 07:58pm
@Muhammad Arshad
You have to learn facts in complete before making statements.
Children of diplomats born is in US are not citizens of USA. Please check the rules again.
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Dec 20, 2014 08:04pm
Playing the SC/ST Card does not win you games. Reservations in all sectors........education, exams, jobs, promotions has made the system untrustworthy. What was India thinking while appointing an inexperienced person to a responsible and important post of a Deputy Consular in USA or anywhere else in the world ?
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Dec 20, 2014 08:04pm
She broke the law and was put through the process all who are arrested. Strip searching is part of the process. I was done by a female guard in the privacy of a room. The last thing prison officals want is people smuggling in weapons in their body cavities.
The problem is that she was applying her Indian way of thinking. Beiong from the elite, in India she could ignore laws and not worry about the consequences. That attitude does not work in the US.
There was also the case of an famous Indian actor who was pulled out of the line at an airport and randomly searched. He became very angry and said "Do you know who I am?". No sir it doesn't matter who you are, the security process is designed to pull people randomly out of the queue and you were picked. Once time they picked an old white lady in a wheel chair and people were complaining.
Law and order is important of a society to work.
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Dec 20, 2014 08:06pm
@Ahmed USA The question wasn't whether she was right or wrong. The question was - How dare American authorities misbehave with Indian citizen or a diplomat!!?? Our government and diplomacy always will stands united for our own!! We even made Shilpa Shetty win that crappy UK big boss because some one passed a racist comment on her being an Indian... lol
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Dec 20, 2014 08:10pm
I have also noticed some comments by Indians about her strip search. What you people need to understand i s in the US just because you come from money and power doesn't put you above the US law. You comit a crime you WILL be subject to the process reserved for criminals;including strip searching for weapons.
As an India co-worker of mine said that when he left India, he was told "Do not break the laws in the US as you wil not be able to get out it".
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Dec 20, 2014 08:24pm
@Sneha Have you seen any Politicians and diplomats being convicted in India in last 20 years?Even if they go to jail,they return back to hero welcome within 15 days.God save south Asian nations.
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Dec 20, 2014 08:46pm
I still remember the hoopla about her being caught and strip searched. Every Indian blogger was spitting against US. It is funny she turned out to be deceiving, untrustworthy and dishonest. Good to see her sacked but what is going to happen to her supporting bloggers.
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Dec 20, 2014 09:44pm
@Muhammad Arshad this not true. My kids are born in USA and I specifically applied for Indian citizenship and got Indian passport. Here the bigger problem is that she got both Indian and US passport. This is illegal in India.
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Dec 20, 2014 10:00pm
A lot of people are saying a lot, let me just put things into perspective. She is liable to follow the law of the land. Which means she can't pay less than minimum wage to anyone working in America even the consulate itself can't do that never mind a personal employee of a diplomat. Also diplomats have immunity against prosecution not against investigation. Americans investigated and arrested her for breaking the law. Everyone arrested in America is searched for concealed weapons so that whole strip search is not a big deal and a bogus claim by her. Children born in America can become American citizens because they were born in America but it is not an automatic process and that citizenship has to be claimed and she chose to make that claim.
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Dec 20, 2014 10:03pm
@Ahmed USA "BJP and Indian government were wrong in defending her and should apologize to the US government"
Nope. When she was an Indian diplomat strip-seached in spite of her diplomatic immunity, BJP and entire India were with her. The USA dare not treat Indian foreign service officers like that.
When she is back in India, all her crimes in Indian soil are now obvious to all:
1. Kids having two passports. Illegal and against Indian law and American law too!
2. Having a flat in a controversial south Mumbai building (Adarsh) that should have been demolished long time back.
3. Bringing disrepute to Indian commissions by behaving the way she did.
So the BJP govt is absolutely right in ensuring that a criminal is isolated and slowly yet surely pay for her sins.
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Dec 20, 2014 10:06pm
One of the problem was she was using Diplomatic benifits for Kids provided by Governement of India. It was corruption directly involving money.
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Dec 20, 2014 10:14pm
@Jason The fraud isn't failing to declair a US passport but criminally acquiring a second passport. If you have an Indian passport you have to renounce your citizenship before acquiring a foreign one. If you have a foreign one you need to give it up when you apply for an Indian one. Infringement can lead to fine or jail or both. As an IFS officer she should have been aware of the law and thus deserves the maximum punishment.
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Dec 20, 2014 10:14pm
@Javed . You are right in target. Her father had influence with important Congress ministers and politicians.
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Dec 20, 2014 10:29pm
This woman represents the babu culture of India: Break any law you want & get away with it. She's a corrupt daughter of a corrupt father & should not represent India in any capacity. As an American, I feel that she belongs in an American jail for breaking American laws.
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Dec 20, 2014 11:09pm
You can always take indian passport. Even if the kid is born in USA.
So many of us have done it.
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Dec 20, 2014 11:40pm
@Independent
No, As long as one of the parents hold Indian passport,It is parents choice whether to take a US citizenship or remain as a Indian National,particularly in this case where there is no possibility for dual citizenship.
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Dec 20, 2014 11:59pm
Indian Government have no respect for freedom of speech or expression
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Dec 20, 2014 11:59pm
@Ganga Din Scapegoat of what?So she told Bharara take hike, because all Indian politicians do it.Well one thing she forgot, "she was not in India".
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Dec 21, 2014 12:48am
Such diplomats bring bad name to their country should immediately be dealt with strict action.
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Dec 21, 2014 01:17am
@saz No we don't have labourer protection laws in India.
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Dec 21, 2014 02:26am
@Nani Her children can automatically get US citizenship because they were born in US but her parents must declare it and give up the passport of the children which she failed to do so which is wrong. She wanted to have the cake and eat it too. The cavity search was wrong as she had immunity and the government and opposition parties supported her. The U.S. embassy staff in India who worked as teachers did not have authorization yo work and failed to pay the tax, the CIA officer gave the maid the airfare but did not pay the tax and used his diplomatic prviladges. Moreover all the staff were given rights to skip the airport screening which was removed and India used tit for tat for the privileges given to them in USA.
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Dec 21, 2014 03:51am
US was bruised in the conflict. This is a matter of ego than justice.
BJP starting to learn 'how to govern' compare to 'how to criticize'. Mr. Obama is due to visit India and bruised ego of sole super-power needs some pacification. India needs to 'show' a little consideration honoring the president.
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Dec 21, 2014 05:10am
She asked for it and she got it. In my opinion she deserve it. Any person who has a little bit of common sense will never go on TV if she/he has this kind of problems.
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Dec 21, 2014 05:10am
Too late.
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Dec 21, 2014 05:12am
@Ali-Indian Too late.
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Dec 21, 2014 05:21am
@Paul Sure, India doesn't permit dual citizenship. Many of my Indian friends, just in order to take a western country citizenship, have opted to give up their Indian passport. But as India, also doesn't allow ownership of properties, in India to any foreign citizen, in order to circumvent this law, almost all of the couples in Europe, USA or Australia, have one partner hold Indian citizenship, and the other partner hold, western country citizenship, to hold on to their Indian properties and acquire some more. There is no such confusion for Pakistanis, as they are allowed to hold both citizenships. Most of the Pakistanis think, that if you move to Islamabad from Lahore or Karachi or......, you don't have to disown your home town.
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Dec 21, 2014 06:32am
Perhaps she belongs to a wrong caste as viewed by the present government!
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Dec 21, 2014 07:38am
Dipak@Ramesh Manghirmalani
Correction: Many Pakistani and Indian diplomats do this crime in USA.
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Dec 21, 2014 10:08am
@Ali-Indian she was stripped off her duties may be not because it happens only in India but because India do not afford to keep a person appointed who was disregarded in the US.
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Dec 21, 2014 12:03pm
She was wrong from the word go. She should calm down and behave as a responsible diplomat.
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Dec 22, 2014 07:15pm
@confused If you have US Citizen you can still own property in India. It is part of NRI investment in India . But you lose the right to vote
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