Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last week. (File)
New Delhi:
After India summoned a US diplomat over their comments on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case, the US on Wednesday reiterated its call for “fair, transparent and timely legal processes”.
We continue to closely monitor these actions, including the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, said US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller while responding to questions about India involving Gloria Berbena, the acting deputy chief of staff. US mission in New Delhi, was summoned.
The meeting at the South Block office of the Ministry of External Affairs lasted for almost 40 minutes yesterday with India strongly objecting to the US comments on Mr Kejriwal’s arrest.
Miller also responded to a question about the congressional party’s frozen bank accounts, saying, “We are also aware of the congressional party’s allegations that tax authorities have frozen a number of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign to be implemented in the coming years. elections.”
Read | India summons US diplomat over comments on Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest
He said the US encourages “fair, transparent and timely legal processes” on each of these issues.
“Regarding your first question, I’m not going to talk about private diplomatic conversations, but what we have said publicly is what I just said from here, which is that we encourage fair, transparent and timely legal processes. I don’t think anyone should object to that,” he said.
Mr Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last week, the third leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, who was taken into custody in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam.
The US State Department said on Tuesday it was monitoring reports of Mr Kejriwal’s arrest and called on New Delhi to ensure “fair and timely legal proceedings” for the jailed prime minister.
India objected, warning of “unhealthy precedents”.
Read | “Encourage a fair, transparent legal process”: US on Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest
“States are expected to respect the sovereignty and internal affairs of others, and this responsibility is even more true in the case of fellow democracies. Otherwise, it could ultimately set unhealthy precedents,” the Foreign Ministry said.
“India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary committed to objective and timely results. It is unfounded to criticize this,” the ministry emphasizes.
The US comments came days after the German Foreign Ministry stressed that Mr Kejriwal is entitled to a fair and impartial trial. The Indian government had reacted strongly and summoned the German envoy and termed their comment as “blatant interference in internal affairs”.
The excise policy was introduced to overhaul the liquor trade in Delhi but was scrapped after Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena ordered a probe into the alleged irregularities in the policy. The ED believes that the kickbacks from the policy were allegedly used to finance the AAP’s election campaigns. It has also called Mr Kejriwal a “conspirator” in the case.
His arrest just ahead of the 2024 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections has also sparked angry protests from the opposition camp.