Devyani Khobragade Says ‘I Will Not Resign’ After Losing Post Over Unauthorized Media Statement

Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade was removed from her position as a director in the partnership development division by the ministry of external affairs after she made unauthorized media statements, reports said Saturday. Khobragade told a local news network that she was not going to resign from her position, despite facing an administrative inquiry.

The ministry has reportedly put her under "compulsory watch" after she gave interviews without proper permission, while some reports also claimed that she was removed from her duties for not disclosing that her children held U.S. passports. Khobragade, who was an official in the Indian consulate in New York, gained media attention after she was charged with visa fraud after being accused of making false statements on a visa application for a domestic worker. She was charged of mistreating her domestic help.

"There is no question of resigning (from the Foreign Service). I have not violated any service rules," Khobragade told NDTV, a local news network.

The Indian government's action comes a week after Khobragade appeared in an interview with NDTV and spoke about her arrest and strip search in New York last December.

The 39-year-old had denied all charges against her and later returned to India. The incident strained ties between India and the United States and also reportedly led to the resignation of Nancy Powell, the U.S. ambassador to India, in April. Powell ended her two-year tenure, while analysts had claimed that her position had weakened as a result of the Khobragade case.

"Some false reports have come in the newspapers that there is some illegality around my children's passports and that I hid a fact that my children have American passports. There is nothing of that sort, I myself informed the government that my kids were born in the US and are considered US citizens," Khobragade told NDTV, during an interview last week.