India strongly objected on Wednesday to remarks made by the US State Department Spokesperson concerning the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. In response, the Ministry of External Affairs summoned a senior US diplomat and issued a statement emphasizing the importance of respecting each other's sovereignty and internal affairs in diplomacy, particularly when dealing with other democracies, to avoid setting unhealthy precedents.
The Ministry reaffirmed that India's legal processes are based on an independent judiciary, and casting doubt on it is unwarranted. Gloria Berbena, the US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, was summoned to the MEA in Delhi, where the meeting lasted approximately 40 minutes.
This move came two days after a State Department spokesperson expressed the US's close monitoring of reports regarding Kejriwal's arrest and their support for a fair legal process. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Kejriwal on corruption charges the previous week in connection with the Delhi excise policy case of 2021-22, which was subsequently scrapped.
India's summons to the US diplomat follows a similar action taken against the Deputy Chief of Mission of the German Embassy in India for commenting on Kejriwal's arrest, prompting a "strong protest" from New Delhi.
The German Foreign Ministry had stated that Kejriwal is entitled to a fair and impartial trial. The arrest has drawn sharp criticism from domestic opposition parties, with the ED claiming Kejriwal as the mastermind behind the policy, leading to the arrest of other senior members of his Aam Admi Party (AAP). In response, the AAP alleged that the money trail in the Delhi liquor policy case leads back to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
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