Khobragade case fallout: MEA urges FinMin to overhaul servant policy

Denies more such cases exist

The Devyani Khobragade case has made the ministry of external affairs (MEA) push its finance counterpart to expedite an overhaul of the policy governing transfers of servants accompanying diplomats.

On Monday, the MEA denied getting complaints of harassment from housekeepers working for Indian diplomats in the US.

In light of the Khobragade episode, the ministry also said the proposed changes to the policy governing servants with diplomats posted abroad must be fast-tracked. The proposal to overhaul the India Based Domestic Assistant (IBDA) policy was with the finance ministry since early 2013, the MEA said. IBDA governs the transfer of housekeepers accompanying Indian diplomats to foreign locations.

Syed Akbaruddin, joint secretary and spokesperson, MEA, said: “There is a proposal on this and the government is considering making significant changes in the system for diplomats taking domestic helps to the US and Europe. The proposal is lying with the finance ministry since early 2013. I know quite some time has passed. This requires changes in the visa system and there are financial implications. We are going to push it.”

Among the proposed changes is one to give the servant the status of a government employee. Now, domestic helps are given the status of quasi-government employees. Giving them full government employee status would mean increased expense for the government, something the finance ministry is reluctant to clear. But an absconding or missing government servant would be dealt with more severely that the case of a missing quasi-government employee.

The MEA has also proposed changes in the visa system for such servants, especially those going to the US and Europe. Instances of servants absconding for better lives are common in these geographies.

Akbaruddin denied claims that other domestic helps have complained of being underpaid at the hands of Indian diplomats.

Indian diplomat Khobragade, posted in New York as deputy consul general, was on December 12 arrested for visa fraud and making false statements on the salary she paid to her housekeeper, Sangeeta Richard. The handling of the issue by the US had raised an uproar in India and the government had demanded the case be dropped. India had said the treatment given to Khobragade was not one fit for a diplomat. It had removed some privileges given to the US embassy in New Delhi.

On if some of the reciprocal steps taken by the government against the US embassy, particularly banning commercial activities on the consulate premises, would be lifted, Akbaruddin said this is against the Vienna Convention. Facilities like a club, swimming pool and gym were meant for diplomats only, he added.