Rama Krishna Sangem
After Germany, the US too made comments on the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal last week. India on March 27, Wednesday took strong objection to remarks by a US spokesperson on Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, stating, “In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others.”
“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,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
“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.
A US State Department spokesperson, while answering a query on India summoning the German envoy over his comments on Kejriwal’s arrest, had said that Washington had been closely following the reports. “We encourage a fair, transparent, and timely legal process for Chief Minister Kejriwal,” he had said.
India protests strongly
Earlier, New Delhi had also summoned German deputy envoy Georg Enzweiler “to convey India’s strong protest” over Berlin’s comments on the same. The MEA also said that the German foreign ministry’s remarks on Kejriwal’s arrest were an interference in India’s judicial process and any “biased assumptions” were “most unwarranted.”
On Friday, Germany had raised concerns regarding Kejriwal’s arrest. “We assume and expect that the standards relating to the independence of the judiciary and basic democratic principles will also be applied in this case,” the German foreign ministry had said.
India suspects the role of some liberal groups and other elements from the country, particularly Punjab are behind this sustained criticism of Modi government’s internal policies or developments of late. So far, India has never made any comment on any of internal developments of the US or Germany. India expects the same must be followed by other countries too, especially the matured democracies.
