'States expected to be respectful...': India objects to US remarks on Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest

India on Wednesday strongly objected to the remarks of the US State Department on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest and stated that “in diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others.”

Earlier in the day, officials at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned US' Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena to its office in the South Block in the national capital. The meeting lasted around 40 minutes.

“We take strong objection to the remarks of the Spokesperson of the US State Department about certain legal proceedings in India. 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,” read a statement from the MEA.

It further stated that the legal processes in India are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes.

“Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted,” it added.

“I can’t discuss our private diplomatic conversations,” the US Embassy Spokesperson said when asked about the MEA protest.

A US State Department official had stated that the country “encouraged a fair, transparent and timely legal process for Kejriwal”.

US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said, "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. With respect to your first question, I'm not going to talk about any private diplomatic conversations, but of course, what we have said publicly is what I just said from here, that we encourage fair, transparent, timely legal processes. We don't think anyone should object to that."

The Enforcement Directorate arrested the Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor last week in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. This comes weeks ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The case pertains to alleged money laundering and corruption in the formulating and execution of the AAP-led Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped.

This comes days after Georg Enzweiler, German Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi, was summoned by India to convey a strong protest regarding their Foreign Office Spokesperson’s comments on the country's internal affairs.

“We see such remarks as interfering in our judicial process and undermining the independence of our judiciary. India is a vibrant and robust democracy with the rule of law. As in all legal cases in the country, and elsewhere in the democratic world, law will take its course in the instant matter. Biased assumptions made on this account are most unwarranted,” MEA said on March 23.