USA remarks on Kejriwal Arrest: After India objected America's interference, USA clarified its stance

The US State Department recently spoke up about Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, who got arrested on suspicion of moving money around with regards to the Delhi excise policy. Matthew Miller, a spokesperson from the US State Department, mentioned that they want to see fair and clear legal processes for this matter. He said this during a press briefing when asked about India's reaction to the comments made by a US diplomat concerning Kejriwal's arrest and the freezing of Congress party's bank accounts.

USA remarks on Kejriwal

Miller made it clear that they're keeping a close eye on what's happening, including the arrest of Kejriwal and the freezing of Congress party's accounts, which could affect their campaigning for upcoming elections. He emphasized the importance of fair and transparent legal processes for all these matters.

However, Miller also clarified that they hadn't discussed any private diplomatic talks and stuck to their public stance of advocating for fair legal proceedings. He stressed that such fairness shouldn't be objected to by anyone.

India, in response, expressed strong objections to the comments made by the US State Department, citing the importance of respecting each other's sovereignty and internal affairs, especially among democracies. The Ministry of External Affairs defended India's legal system, highlighting its independence and commitment to impartial judgements.

US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs  on Wednesday, over the remarks by USA spokesperson.

India's strong Objection

Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of MEA replied to a query about the remarks by USA spokesperson Miller by saying that such remarks are unwarranted and unacceptable. He said "The recent remarks by the State Department are unwarranted. Any such external invitation on electoral and legal processes is completely unacceptable. In India legal processes are driven only by the rule of law. Anyone who has similar ethos specially fellow democracies should have no difficulty in appreciating this fact. It is proud of its independent and robust democratic institutions. We are committed to protect them from any form of undue external influences, mutual respect and understanding form the foundation of international relations and states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others."

Earlier, India had also protested against similar remarks made by the German Foreign Office spokesperson, considering it interference in India's judicial process. The German spokesperson had mentioned that Kejriwal should be entitled to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence.

Kejriwal was arrested last Friday in connection with the Delhi excise policy case and was remanded to ED custody until March 28.

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