India again hits out at US after remarks on Kejriwal's arrest, Congress account freeze

India once again expressed its strong displeasure over the remarks made by US State Department on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest and the freezing of Congress party's bank accounts, calling them unwarranted and unacceptable.

In a press briefing, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal asked the US to be respectful of India's sovereignty and internal affairs.

"Yesterday India lodged its strong objection and protest with the senior official from the US embassy with regard to the comments made by the US State Department. 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. 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."

"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," he said.

MEA's reaction came a day after India summoned the acting US deputy chief of mission in New Delhi following a State Department comment on Monday that it was closely following reports of Kejriwal's arrest and that it encouraged a fair legal process.

"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 in a statement.

"In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others. This responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents," it said.

Hours after India summoned a senior US diplomat to lodge a protest over comments on the arrest of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Wednesday reiterated that Washington encourages fair, transparent, timely legal processes and “we don't think anyone should object to that".

“We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal,” Matthew Miller said while 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.

Miller also responded to a question on the freezing of the Congress party’s bank accounts.

“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," he said.

Also read | After Kejriwal's arrest, US comments on Congress' frozen bank accounts