BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi Tuesday declined to meet a US Congressional team to protest the "ill-treatment meted to our lady diplomat in the US".
"Refused to meet the visiting delegation in solidarity with our nation," the Bharatiya Janata Party leader tweeted.
India's Deputy Consul General in New York, Devyani Khobargade, is in US custody on charges of "exploiting" her housemaid and babysitter. New Delhi has lodged a strong protest against the treatment meted out to her.
Modi's decision follows similar decisions by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.