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 The move came a day after police removed security barricades from
the U.S. embassy in New Delhi in reprisal against the arrest. Heavy
machinery dragged away concrete barriers that restricted traffic
movement around the embassy.
The dispute was triggered by the December 12 arrest of Devyani
Khobragade, a deputy consul general at the Indian Consulate in New
York, on charges of visa fraud and making false statements about how
much she paid her housekeeper, an Indian national.
India has responded furiously to what it considers the degrading
treatment of a senior diplomat by the United States, a country it
considers a close friend.
"It is no longer about an individual, it is about our sense of self
as a nation and our place in the world," Foreign Minister Salman
Khurshid told parliament, whose usually fractious members showed
rare unity on the issue ahead of elections due to be held by May
next year.
Many Indians are outraged at what they see as heavy-handed treatment
of Khobragade, who her lawyer says was handcuffed in the street. The
U.S. Justice Department confirmed she was then strip searched.
An Indian source close to the case said the interrogation had
included a cavity search.
Khurshid said work conditions of Indians employed in U.S. consulates
in major Indian cities would be revised, to root out any violations
of labor laws, and there would be a freeze on the duty free import
of alcohol and food for consulate staff.
Several politicians argue that India provides too many unilateral
perks to U.S. diplomatic staff. Khurshid reined in some of these on
Wednesday, saying passes giving consulate staff access to airport
lounges had to turned in by Thursday.
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Supporters of a right-wing opposition party held a small protest
close to the embassy in Delhi on Wednesday. Around 30 demonstrators,
some wearing makeshift Obama masks and sarongs made from the
American flag, demanded an apology.
"It was very good that the government removed the barriers
yesterday. Until the U.S.A. says sorry, we should not give any
security at all to the Americans," said protester Gaurav Khattar,
33.
The U.S. State Department said it had told the Indian government it
expects New Delhi to protect its embassy and stressed it did not
want the incident with the Indian diplomat to hurt ties.
The embassy did not respond to repeated requests for information
about what action would be taken to replace the barriers. The
compound has several other layers of security and is protected by a
high wall.
(Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; editing by Nick Macfie)
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