Gone with the BJP wind: Has PM Modis govt dumped the Devyani Khobragade issue? Exactly a year ago, mainstream and social media, woke up to and consequently went blind with rage over the following piece of news: a young Indian diplomat had been arrested by the police in New York, handcuffed and escorted away from her childrens school and then strip searched in jail. The incident involving 32-year-old Devyani Khobragade cooked up such a storm that not only rained on the former UPA governments otherwise pleasant relations with the Obama government, it also stoked nationalistic passions wildly before the crucial elections this year. However, much has changed in the last year and Khobragade went from being someone who had the entire country up in arms on behalf of her to someone who has a vigilance probe against her and doesnt even have the government rallying behind her anymore. A report on The Times of India, points out how the recent upswing in the India-US relations has just one casualty and that is Khobragade. The paper quotes Khobragade as saying, This year has been extremely challenging and traumatic for me. Not only do I now have a criminal case on me based on false charges and an arrest warrant in a foreign country, this has had severe repercussion for my family which is now divided between India and the US. In addition to this personal cost, it has also affected my professional career. The report adds how the India-US relations have witnessed a slew of changes including the provision for selected diplomats to take maids with them on an A-2 visa. When the Khobragade issue broke last year, just a few months before the general elections, it was the perfect issue for the the BJP to pounce on and take the UPA to the cleaners. Sensing that the BJP might do exactly that, the UPA-II also launched an aggressive anti-US campaign by rescinding the special privileges of US diplomats, slamming American schools etc. The BJP, then busy fanning deep nationalistic sentiments to whitewash its formerly communal image indulged in all sorts of jingoism while speaking on the issue. BJP leader Yashwant Sinha had then told the Parliament, Somewhere or the other we are not taking the matter seriously. Whether it is America or any other country it is necessary for India to explain that we will do the same with you. However, soon after the Modi sarkars anointment, the Khobragade issue seems to have been put on the back- burner indefinitely by the partys government. The TOI report suggests that the Modi government is in no mood to botch up India-US relations over Khobragade and have been told to stay calm on the issue until New York prosecutor Preet Bhararas term ends two years from now. It is evident that PM Modi - whose biggest achievement till now, arguably, has been the several foreign jaunts he has been on, presumably oiling Indias relations with the countries - is in no mood to let Khobragade come in the way of Indias relations with US, a big ticket investor. During Khobragades arrest, it was pointed out my mainstream media and others that the US had decided to be exceptionally harsh with her, with no apparent reason. While India was willing to relax the implementation of some of its laws in many cases, it went to an extreme with Khobragade, treating her like a suspected terrorist. Firstposts editor-in-chief R Jagannathan had pointed out: Our general assumption that the US law enforcers are merely doing their duty is rubbish. If alleged violation of US visa laws by Infosys can be settled with a fine, why couldnt the US have done so for Khobragade? Or is a woman diplomat fair game for US law enforcers? Indians are the most gullible goops in the world when it comes to discerning the difference between an honest effort to implement the law and using laws to project power and blackmail other countries. Senior editor Sandip Roy had noted in an article: However, when it comes to these matters of equality before the law, the United States is very much the emperor who has no clothes. It really has little ground to adopt its tone of high moral dudgeon. These opinions were echoed by most in the country and the BJP, then sitting in the Opposition, had slammed the UPA for going soft on the US and not taking them to the cleaners. However, recent reports suggested that Khobragade has been ticked off by the ministry of external affairs recently for talking to the media about her travails. Sources said she could get a rap on the knuckles even as the ministry was examining other aspects of her case in the US. PM Modi clearly needs the US stamp of approval if he has to realise any of the lofty promises he made in the run up to the elections. Now that he is on the right path, with President Obama being the first US president ever to be a guest at the Republic Day parade, he will definitely not let Khobragade spoil his game.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 15:10:15 +0000
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