Even as the US has hardened its stand on the diplomatic tussle with India by refusing to drop charges against Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade who was arrested in a wage dispute case with her domestic maid, protests are growing against the stern stand taken by the American Government.
Voices of strong resentment against the shabby treatment meted out to the diplomat are rising and the echoes reverberated in the city on Saturday.
Demo stagedA sizeable group of people comprising a few local leaders and students of Bishop Azaraiah College staged a demonstration in front of the Sub-Collector’s office, condemning the ‘uncalled for’ behaviour of the US with the Indian diplomat.
The protestors held banners with slogans that denounced the humiliation of a woman diplomat.
Addressing the demonstrators, Congress leader Kolanukonda Sivaji said the fact that Ms. Devyani’s arrest was made while she was on her way to her daughter’s school to drop her. She was reportedly handcuffed like a hardened criminal.
“The US has refused to drop charges against the diplomat and is not ready to apologise for the unfair treatment meted out to her. This is not the first time that an Indian is subjected to humiliation. People like former President Abdul Kalam and Bollywood actors have also been detained at the airport for hours at a stretch,” he said.
Referring to the case of Warren Anderson, former chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Union Carbide who is currently living in the US and sought by the Indian government for the infamous Bhopal gas tragedy that claimed thousands of lives and left thousands of others permanently disabled, he said the fact that Mr. Anderson continued to elude arrest by Indian government proved the double standards of the US government.
Calling the incident an attack on the Indian sovereignty, he said if the Indian demands were not fulfilled immediately, people would intensify stir and target multi-national outlets like KFC and Dominos.
Later, they submitted a memorandum to an official in the absence of the Sub-Collector.
The Congress leaders, meanwhile, in a separate protest, also condemned the incident and burnt an effigy of US Government. The leaders said the US stand on the issue was deplorable and that the Indian diplomat was being targeted as part of its conspiracy.
