India on Thursday said the United States State Department's recent remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are 'unwarranted' and asserted the country is 'proud of its independent and robust democratic institutions' and committed to protect them from any form of undue external influences.
During his weekly press briefing, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal read out a statement in response to a query on New Delhi's stand on the remarks made by Washington, DC on the arrest and on freezing of Congress party's bank accounts.
Any 'external imputation' on India's electoral and legal processes is 'completely unacceptable', he said.
"Yesterday India had lodged its strong objection and protest with the senior official from the US embassy with regard to the comments made by the US State Department," he said.
The recent remarks by the State Department are 'unwarranted', the MEA spokesperson said, reading the statement.
India on Wednesday summoned Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena and lodged a strong protest against Washington, DC's remarks on the arrest of Kejriwal.
In India, legal processes are driven 'only by the rule of law', Jaiswal said on Thursday.
"Anyone, who has similar ethos, especially, fellow democracies, should have no difficulty in appreciating this fact. India is proud of its independent and robust democratic institutions, we are committed to protect them from any form of undue external influences," he said, quoting the statement.
"Mutual respect and understanding form the foundation of international relations, and states are expected to be respectful of sovereignty and internal affairs of others. So, this is our statement in response to your questions," the MEA spokesperson said.
Washington, DC on Wednesday had stressed that it encourages fair, transparent, timely legal processes and 'we don't think anyone should object to that'.
"We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal," US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
On March 23, India had summoned the German deputy chief of mission in New Delhi and lodged a strong protest against that country's foreign ministry's remarks on the arrest of the Delhi chief minister.
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 MEA had earlier said.
The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Kejriwal in a money laundering case linked to the excise policy 'scam'.
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.
