India | US
After India summons US diplomat over remarks on Kejriwal's arrest, Washington speaks on Congress's frozen accounts
Washington DC/New Delhi/IBNS: The United States has reacted to India summoning its diplomat over comments on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate.
"We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal," US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a media briefing.
India has summoned Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena in New Delhi after the US State Department remarked on the arrest of Kejriwal.
Miller not only restricted his comments to Kejriwal's arrest but also raised questions on Congress's allegations of freezing its bank accounts.
He said the US encourages 'fair and transparent legal processes'.
"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.
"With respect to your first question, I'm not going to talk about any private diplomatic conversations, 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. We'll make the same thing clear privately," Miller said.
Meanwhile, India on Tuesday strongly objected to the US State Department's remarks on the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal and said New Delhi expects other states to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others.
"We take strong objection to the remarks of the Spokesperson of the US State Department about certain legal proceedings in India," read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.
"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," read the statement.
"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 statement said.
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