India 'Strongly' Objects to US Remarks on Kejriwal’s Requests
Defense News ,India :- India on Wednesday “strongly” objected to a US State Department spokesperson’s remarks “about certain legal proceedings in India”, a reference to the arrest by the Enforcement Directorate of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others. This responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents.”
“India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted,” the spokesperson added.
On Monday, a US State Department spokesperson said the US was closely following reports of Kejriwal’s arrest and encouraged a fair legal process.
Arvind Kejriwal US envoy summonProtests have broken out across Delhi over the arrest of CM Arvind Kejriwal. (Express Photo)
India on Wednesday “strongly” objected to a US State Department spokesperson’s remarks “about certain legal proceedings in India”, a reference to the arrest by the Enforcement Directorate of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others. This responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents.”
“India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted,” the spokesperson added.
On Monday, a US State Department spokesperson said the US was closely following reports of Kejriwal’s arrest and encouraged a fair legal process.
Sources said that a senior US diplomat was called to South Block and that the Indian government’s response was conveyed.
This is the second time in the last two weeks that India has hit back at the US. On March 15, Delhi said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was an “internal matter” and that it “supports human rights”.
“Citizenship (Amendment) Act is an “internal matter”, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said responding to the criticism from Washington. “As regards the US State Department’s statement on the implementation of CAA, we are of the view that it is misplaced, misinformed and unwarranted,” he added.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that the US State Department spokesperson had said in response to an emailed query about Kejriwal’s case, “We encourage a fair, transparent, and timely legal process for Chief Minister Kejriwal.”
On March 23, Germany said it had “taken note” of the arrest of Kejriwal and hoped the standards relating to the independence of judiciary and basic democratic principles would be applied.
Responding to this, India summoned the German deputy chief of mission in New Delhi on March 23 and lodged a strong protest against the German foreign ministry’s remarks.
This was the third face-off between the German foreign ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs in the last three years over Indian judicial actions against Opposition and civil society leaders.
German deputy envoy Georg Enzweiler was summoned by Indian officials and told that the German foreign ministry’s remarks on Kejriwal’s arrest were an interference in the country’s judicial process and that any “biased assumptions” were “most unwarranted”, an official said.
