Have reciprocity: CPI-M on Indian envoy frisking

New Delhi : The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) on Friday deplored the frisking of Indian Ambassador to the United States, Meera Shankar, by security personnel at an airport in the country.

?The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) deplores the frisking of the Indian Ambassador to the United States, Meera Shankar, by security personnel at an airport in the United States. More objectionably, the Indian Ambassador was selected for an enhanced pat-down from amongst the passengers,? said the CPI-M in a statement.

?It is not enough for the Indian government to say that such frisking is unacceptable. Since the US authorities have stated that Ambassadors are not exempt from security searches, what the Government should do is to adopt a reciprocal approach.

The US Ambassador in India should be subjected to security searches on domestic flights in India,? the statement said.

Meanwhile, the US has regretted the patting on the Indian diplomat by a security staff at Mississippi airport, saying it would review its policies and get back to India’s concern over the incident.

On Thursday, the US expressed concern over the patting down of Meera Shankar at the airport last week and reached out to her regretting the incident.

?We obviously are concerned about it,? said US secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

Around the same time the state department reached out to Shankar.

?But certainly, we will be looking into it and not only responding to the Indian foreign minister but also reviewing the policies,? Clinton said, reacting to the incident and India’s concern.

India’s External Affairs minister SM Krishna had called the incident as ?unacceptable?.

“This is unacceptable to India and we are going to take it up with the government of the United States and I hope that things could be resolved so that unpleasant incidents do not recur,” Krishna said.

?The US department of state has reached out to the ambassador and has regretted what all happened,? said Indian embassy spokesperson Virendar Paul.

On Dec 4, Shankar was pulled out of a security line and patted down by a security official at Jackson airport in Mississippi for a screening despite she had passed through the metal frame without setting off an alarm.

The diplomat, who was travelling from Mississippi to Baltimore in Maryland, was then frisked, though she revealed her status.

Indian embassy officials said Shankar was singled out for her sari, a common dress for Indian women.

The Transportation Security Administration, which runs security at all US airports, defended the pat down saying no one is exempted.