India summons US diplomat over comments on Kejriwal
MEA said in a statement on Wednesday it raised “strong objections” to the comments
India summoned a top US diplomat to complain about comments made by the US state department regarding the arrest last week of an opposition leader, according to people familiar with the matter. Gloria Berbena, the deputy chief of the US embassy, was called to a meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private.
A US State Department spokesman, speaking on background, said on Tuesday it’s closely following the reports of the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi and leader of the opposition Aam Aadmi Party. The US encourages a fair, transparent, and timely legal process, the spokesman said.
The ministry of external affairs (MEA) said in a statement on Wednesday it raised “strong objections” to the comments, but didn’t disclose that Berbena had been summoned.
“Casting aspersions are unwarranted,” Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesman for the ministry of external affairs, said in the statement. “States are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of the others.”
The US embassy didn’t immediately respond to requests for further information. India’s external affairs ministry also didn’t respond to an email seeking details on the summoning of the US diplomat.
Kejriwal was arrested last week by India’s antimoney laundering agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), in relation to a bribery case, prompting a backlash from opposition parties accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of using federal agencies to target them. The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 that was later scrapped.
The arrest came just weeks before India holds elections. Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party governs Delhi and Punjab.
India recently raised similar objections after German officials commented about Kejriwal’s arrest. In a 23 March statement from the ministry of external affairs, it said Germany’s deputy chief of mission was summoned to a meeting to register New
Kejriwal was arrested last week by the Enforcement Directorate, in relation to a bribery case, prompting a backlash from opposition
Delhi’s disapproval.
A German foreign ministry spokesperson had “taken note” of Kejriwal’s arrest. “We see such remarks as interfering in our judicial process and undermining the independence of our judiciary,” the external affairs ministry had said.
PTI contributed to this story.