WASHINGTON, Dec 20: Amid efforts to resolve the raging diplomatic row over the arrest of Devyani Khobragade, the US today rejected India’s demands of dropping visa fraud charges against the senior diplomat and apologising for mistreating her.
State Department spokesperson Marie Harf made it clear that 39-year-old Khobragade will have to face the “very serious” allegations and that the immunity sought for her after her transfer to India’s Permanent Mission to the UN is “not retroactive”.
In Delhi, sources said the two sides discussed specific steps to resolve the situation during a telephone call made by US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman to Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh to follow up on the conversation Secretary of State John Kerry had with National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon on Wednesday.
“We take these allegations very seriously. We’re not in any way walking back from those allegations or the charges. Again, this is really a law enforcement issue,” Harf said in response to a volley of questions on the issue.
The spokesperson replied in the negative on being asked whether the Deputy Consul General in New York, arrested on December 12, would be allowed to go “scot-free”.
“I don’t know the details of the complaint, and I don’t know if even withdrawing the complaint, which I’m not saying anybody is considering would, in fact, drop the charge. That’s not something that’s even being considered,” Harf said.
“We certainly take these types of allegations very seriously though. It’s not a decision for us whether to prosecute or not,” Harf said.
Contradicting External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid’s remark yesterday that the two sides were trying to lock a time for a conversation between him and Kerry, Harf said nothing was scheduled as of now.
“No plans (for Kerry) to (call Khurshid),” she said.
“I mean, he (Kerry) is always open to, but I think there was some misreporting out there today that he maybe was planning to, and that’s just not the case,” she said.
Khurshid had said, “I was not available when John Kerry called. We are trying to lock a time for a call this evening or may be tomorrow. Kerry is in the Philippines and there is a huge time difference.”
Kerry is on a year-end family vacation and would return to Washington after holidays, she said. (AGENCIES)
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