US stands its ground on ‘fair’ legal process for Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal

Unfazed by India's criticism of the US commenting on the country's domestic politics and judicial process, state department spokesman Matt Miller iterated at the department briefing what had earlier been told only to Reuters in response to an email query

Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal at the Rouse Avenue court in New Delhi on Thursday.: PTI

Anita Joshua, TT, New Delhi, 29.03.24 : The US on Wednesday saw no reason for anyone to object to an encouragement of "fair, transparent, timely legal processes" for Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The response came after India summoned the American acting deputy chief of mission in Delhi to register a protest over the state department's remarks on his arrest.

Unfazed by India's criticism of the US commenting on the country's domestic politics and judicial process, state department spokesman Matt Miller iterated at the department briefing what had earlier been told only to Reuters in response to an email query.

Unlike Germany, which backed off after its diplomat was summoned over the weekend for a similar response to the arrest, the US held its ground, drawing a lengthier response from the external affairs ministry on Thursday.

Responding to a slew of questions on the state department's iteration of its stance despite the summoning, external affairs ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said: "The recent remarks by the state department are unwarranted. Any such external imputation on our electoral and legal processes is completely unacceptable."

Asserting that in India, "legal processes are driven only by the rule of law", he further underscored that anyone who had a 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 added.

On Wednesday, when asked at the state department briefing for a response to the American diplomat's summoning and how the US viewed the recent political turmoil in India, including the freezing of the Opposition Congress’s bank account, Miller said Washington was following these actions closely.

"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," Miller said.

He added: "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, and we’ll make the same thing clear privately."