Meera Shankar’s Pat Down Controversy Intensifies
December 9th, 2010 - 8:34 pm ICT by GDBy Meena Kar
Dec 9, (THAINDIAN NEWS) It looks like the TSA’s unpopularity will soon become a global phenomenon as the External Affairs ministry of India too is now one of its critics. Recently Meera Shankar, the Indian Ambassador to the United States was recently subjected to a pat down while she was boarding a flight to Baltimore last week.
Witnesses who were present during the incident said that Meera Shankar was singled out because she was wearing sari. She was taken the VIP room and also pulled out of the line for the screening process. Later she was also pat down by a female TSA officers. The news has come as a real shock for the Indian government as Meera Shankar had insisted that she was diplomat and presented her papers to the TSA officials. Considering that American diplomats in India are completely immune to such screening, the incident has irked the External Affairs ministry which is reportedly writing a strong mail to the US State Department.
Meera Shankar was also escorted by a host representative at the time she reached the airport. Witnesses said that she was asked to come out of the line for an enhanced pat down by an official after they noticed her sari. The TSA spokesperson said that the pat down was a part of the policies and procedure of the TSA and diplomats were not exempt from it. External Affairs Minister SM Krishna spoke to the media recently and said that the matter is being taken up with the United States government and hopefully any further such unpleasant incidents will be avoided.
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- India summons US diplomat over Shankar's 'pat down' search - Dec 11, 2010
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- Another pat down of diplomat in US, India takes up issue (Lead) - Dec 14, 2010
- Frisking of Indian envoy unfortunate, security policies need to be reviewed: US - Dec 10, 2010
- Another Indian diplomat 'patted down', issue taken up with US - Dec 13, 2010
- Indian Foreign Ministry conveys displeasure on patting of Ambassador Meera Shankar - Dec 11, 2010
- Frisking row: US assures Sikh delegation better sensitivity - Dec 15, 2010
- US seeks to cool diplomatic row over envoy pat down - Dec 11, 2010
- Envoy's airport search will be taken up with US embassy: Rao - Dec 10, 2010
Tags: american diplomats, controversy, diplomat, external affairs minister, external affairs ministry, global phenomenon, indian ambassador, indian government, kar, krishna, mail, meena, meera shankar, sari, spokesperson, tsa, united states government, unpleasant incidents, us state department, vip room