'Don't Think Anyone Should Object to it': US After India Summons Envoy Over Delhi CM Arrest Remarks

Washington: House after India summoned a senior US diplomat over protest remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Washington stressed that it 'encourages fair, transparent, timely legal processes' and 'don't think anyone should object to that.'

On Wednesday, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said, "We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal."

Responding to a question during the State Department briefing over India summoning Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena in New Delhi earlier in the day on freezing of Congress party’s bank accounts, Miller said, "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. We’ll make the same thing clear privately,” Miller said.

This development comes after the Indian Ministry of External Affairs officials summoned the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena at its office in South Block in Delhi and lodged a strong protest against a US State Department official’s remarks on Kejriwal’s arrest.

The meeting lasted for more than 30 minutes.

Reports suggested that a US State Department official had said that Washington “encouraged a fair, transparent and timely legal process for chief minister Kejriwal”.

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested CM Kejriwal in a money laundering case linked to the excise policy ‘scam’.

Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs said Delhi strongly objected 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 said.

"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 MEA said.

(With PTI inputs)