India summoned a senior US diplomat on Wednesday, March 27, over recent US State Department remarks on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest in an alleged money laundering case linked to the Excise Liquor Policy scam case.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in Delhi summoned the US' Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, Gloria Berbena. The meeting lasted for approximately 40 minutes.
MEA issued statement in this regard said 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 case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents, the statement read.
Meeting Lasted for Approximately 40 Minutes:
The statment further said that 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 summon came two days after the State Department spokesperson said that the US is closely following reports of the arrest of Indian opposition figure Arvind Kejriwal and encourages a fair legal process. "We encourage a fair, transparent, and timely legal process for Chief Minister Kejriwal," the US official had said in a response to a query by news agency Reuters.
Earlier last week, the government has summoned a German envoy as a mark of protest against his government's remarks about the arrest of the Delhi CM. "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," Sebastian Fischer, spokesperson for Germany's foreign office had said in a press conference.