New Delhi [India] : A Day after India lodged a strong protest with the senior official from the US Embassy with regard to the comments made by the US State Department regarding the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, the United Nations has now waded in saying that it hopes that everyone’s rights are protected, including political and civil rights, and everyone is able to vote in an atmosphere that is free and fair.
Responding to a query on reports of political unrest in India, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General said “We very much hope that in India, as in any country that is having elections, that everyone’s rights are protected, including political and civil rights, and everyone is able to vote in an atmosphere that is free and fair.”
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has objected to the remarks of the US State Department spokesperson on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case and dismissed the comments as ‘unwarranted’.
‘The recent remarks by the State Department are unwarranted. Any such external imputation on our electoral and legal processes is completely unacceptable. In India, legal processes are driven only by the rule of law’, said MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a weekly media briefing.
‘Anyone who has similar ethos, especially fellow democracies, should have no difficulty in appreciating this fact. India is proud of its independent and robust democratic institutions. We are committed to protect them from any form of undue external influences’, added the spokesperson.
He further emphasised that 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 on Wednesday, US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller was asked about his response to India’s summoning US diplomat over comments on Delhi CM Kejriwal’s arrest and freezing of Congress party’s bank accounts, to which he said that they are following these actions closely.
“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,” Miller added.
“And we encourage fair, transparent and timely legal processes for each of these issues,” he stressed.
Prior to this, India summoned the German Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi to lodge a strong protest against their foreign office spokesperson’s remarks on the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
On Saturday, the German deputy chief of mission, Georg Enzweiler, was summoned to the external affairs ministry for a protest against the position taken by the German foreign ministry on Kejriwal’s arrest.
Last Friday, a spokesperson of the German Foreign Ministry, when questioned about the arrest of Kejriwal, said that he was entitled to a fair trial.
Making a strong statement against the German Foreign Office spokesperson’s remarks, India said that it sees these remarks as interference in India’s ‘judicial process’ and ‘undermining the independence’ of the Indian judiciary, the Ministry of External Affairs said last week.
Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged money laundering in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
