New Delhi: Four days after a German foreign ministry spokesperson spoke about a fair and impartial trial for Arvind Kejriwal, the US state department has called for a fair legal process for the arrested Delhi chief minister.
Like in Germany’s case, India has registered a strong protest and summoned a senior American diplomat on Wednesday.
“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,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
The statement didn’t refer to the summoning of an American diplomat. However, informed sources said US acting deputy chief of mission Gloria Berbena was called, reported Hindustan Times.
MEA’s statement added that India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary committed to “objective and timely outcomes”.
“Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted,” the ministry stated.
A State department spokesperson told Reuters that the US was closely following reports of the arrest of Kejriwal and encourages a fair legal process.
Kejriwal was arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in a money-laundering case related to the controversial Delhi excise policy for 2021-22 that was later scrapped.
“We encourage a fair, transparent, and timely legal process for chief minister Kejriwal,” the State department spokesperson said.
German deputy chief of mission Georg Enzweiler was summoned to the MEA on March 23 and told that Germany’s stance on Kejriwal’s arrest amounted to interfering in India’s judicial process.
