India is "proud of its independent and robust democratic institutions" and committed to protecting them from any form of undue external influences, the External Affairs Ministry said on Thursday.
MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the US State Department's recent remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are "unwarranted" and added that any such external imputation on our electoral and legal processes is "completely unacceptable."
"The recent remarks by the US State Department are unwarranted. Any such external imputation on our electoral and legal processes is completely unacceptable. In India, the legal process is driven only by the rule of law. Anyone who has a similar ethos, especially in fair democracies, should have no objection to appreciating this fact. India is proud of its robust and independent democratic institutions," Jaiswal said.
This comes after the US government doubled down on its remark on Kejriwal’s arrest, even as India summoned the US envoy in Delhi and lodged a strong protest.
Asked about India’s actions, US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller said on Wednesday that they are closely monitoring the developments.
"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 said.
His response came shortly after India summoned the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, Gloria Berbena at the MEA 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.
The official had said that the US government encourages a “fair and transparent” legal process for Kejriwal who has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to the liquor policy scam.
The US reaction came days after Germany made a similar statement, saying the chief minister was entitled to a fair and impartial trial.
"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," German foreign ministry spokesperson Sebastian Fischer said last week.
India termed his remarks an interference in its judicial process and lodged a strong protest by summoning the German deputy chief of mission in New Delhi on Saturday.
