The Ministry of External Affairs, on Thursday, dubbed the second remarks by a US official on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as “unacceptable and unwarranted”.
“We had already summoned a senior US diplomat. Any such external imputation to electoral and legal processes is completely unacceptable. In India, legal processes are driven only by the rule of law. Anyone who has a similar ethos, especially fellow democracies, should have no difficulty in appreciating this fact,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a weekly press briefing.
The statement from New Delhi came as Matthew Miller, a representative from the US State Department, has again reacted over the arrest of Kejriwal by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED)– a domestic law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crimes in India.
During a presser, Miller was questioned about the US’s reaction to the remarks on Kejriwal’s arrest and the freezing of the Congress party’s bank accounts. The US State Department stated that they are closely monitoring these developments.
“We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. We are also aware of the Congress party’s allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections. And we encourage fair, transparent and timely legal processes for each of these issues,” Miller said during the presser held on Wednesday.
His reaction came despite India having summoned a senior US diplomat in connection with the remarks by a US State Department official over the arrest of Kejriwal.
In a statement released after the MEA summoned US’ Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena, read: “We take strong objection to the remarks of the Spokesperson of the US State Department about certain legal proceedings in India.” Further, the ministry asserted India is a democratic country and expressed hope that other “fellow democracies” should respect its sovereignty and internal matters.
The MEA, in its statement, underscored that if countries like the United States does not respect other’s internal matters, it would set “unhealthy precedents”. “In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others. This responsibility is even more so in the case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents,” said MEA.
“India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted,” it added.
