Despite India calling a top US official to express disapproval, the US has not changed its stance on Arvind Kejriwal’s imprisonment. Additionally, the nation has now reacted on the Congress’s financial accounts being frozen, saying that this would “make it challenging for the party to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections.”
Washington emphasized on Wednesday that “we don’t think anyone should object to that” and that it supports fair, open, and prompt judicial procedures.
US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said, “We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.”
Miller was answering a question on the freezing of the Congress party’s bank accounts and India’s previous summoning of Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena in New Delhi earlier in the day at the State Department briefing.
“We are also aware of the claims made by the Congress party that some of their financial accounts have been blocked by tax officials, making it difficult for them to run a successful campaign in the next elections. Additionally, we support prompt, equitable, and transparent legal procedures for each of these concerns.
Regarding your first query, I won’t discuss any confidential diplomatic discussions, but naturally, we have said publicly—and I’ve stated it again now—that we support just, open, and prompt legal procedures. That shouldn’t raise any red flags, in our opinion. In private, we’ll clarify the same point,” Miller said.
Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena was called by Ministry of External Affairs officials to their South Block office in Delhi, where they also registered a strong protest over a US State Department official’s comments on Kejriwal’s arrest. The meeting went on for more than half an hour.
According to reports, Washington “encouraged a fair, transparent, and timely legal process for Chief Minister Kejriwal.” This was said by a source from the US State Department.
In a money laundering case connected to the excise policy “scam,” Kejriwal was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate.
The lawsuit concerns suspected money laundering and corruption during the development and implementation of the excise policy for 2021–2022 by the Delhi government, which was subsequently abandoned.
Prior to this, the Ministry of External Affairs said that Delhi strongly disagrees with the US State Department spokesperson’s comments about specific judicial cases in India.
States are supposed to respect each other’s domestic affairs and sovereignty while engaging in diplomatic relations. This duty is exacerbated when it comes to other democracies. Otherwise, it can wind up creating unfavorable precedents, according to the government.
The foundation of India’s legal system is an independent court dedicated to prompt, impartial decisions. It is inappropriate to disparage it, the MEA said.