IFS Devyani Khobragade’s father may join political bandwagon; may face tough questions on controversial past

The Indictment of Devyani Khobragade

INDIAN newspapers today printed a photograph of diplomat Devyani Khobragade offering her respect at Chaitya Bhoomi, a memorial of Dalit icon BR Ambedkar, in her home town of Mumbai where she had landed on Tuesday. As the 1999 batch IFS officer reached the airport, she was greeted by a crowd, mostly the members of the Republican Party of India which has its roots in Scheduled Castes Federation led by Ambedkar. Devyani is unlikely to quit the elite IFS to join the political bandwagon, at least for now, but her father…

Devyani Khobragade case creates a deep crater in Indo-US bilateral ties, says Nirupama Rao; Rao's 8-point argument

Rao with US President Obama

DIPLOMAT Nirupama Rao who till recently was India’s ambassador to US has said that Devyani Khobragade case has created a deep crater in the Indo-US bilateral relationship. “Was the much vaunted defining partnership between the two countries so inconsequential that US decided to treat whole case as routine?” Rao who was also the foreign secretary said in a social media site. Here are eight tweets that Rao posted on the row on Friday.

Devyani Khobragade Row: MEA spokesperson’s reply to US prosecutor Preet Bharara’s statement, full text here

INDIAN diplomat Devyani Khobragade might have been shifted to Indian permanent mission to UN to ensure full diplomatic immunity to her in the backdrop of her arrest over alleged visa frauds in America, but the row is still continuing. US prosecutor Preet Bharara said she was not handcuffed. He said: “She (Khobragade) was not, as has been incorrectly reported, arrested in front of her children. The agents arrested her in the most discreet way possible, and unlike most defendants, she was not then handcuffed or restrained." It prompted ministry of external affairs…

How India should react to US' treatment of diplomat Devyani Khobragade? Arun Jaitley, Kamal Nath, Yashwant Sinha suggest ways

WITH India curtailing privileges of American diplomats to protest humiliation of its Deputy Consul General in New York Devyani Khobragade last week, the Indo-US diplomatic row has turned ugly. "The US needs to be awakened… India can’t be treated like a banana republic,” says angry Kamal Nath, India's parliamentary affairs minister. “Arrest same sex companions of US diplomats”, urges India’s former external affairs minister Yaswant Sinha. Find below 5 viewpoints:

10 things about IFS officer Devyani Khobragade: Her family, passion and favourite Hollywood actor

Devyani Khobragade, 1999 batch IFS

INDIAN diplomats across the world were shocked and angry when they heard the news that one of their colleagues Devyani Khobragade, a doctor-turned Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of 1999 batch and current Deputy Consul General of India in New York, was arrested by law enforcement authorities in New York on Thursday morning when “she was dropping her daughter at school”. Khobragade, who was later released on bail, was arrested on the basis of allegations raised by the officer’s former India-based domestic assistant, Ms Sangeeta Richard, who has been absconding since June this year. The officer is accused of giving false information while applying for a visa for a “babysitter and housekeeper”, and also of underpaying the help --- the charges if turned right could give her a jail term up to 15 years. Here are 10 things you may like to know about Devyani Khobragade: