Besides US and Germany expressing their concern on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Income Tax Recovery from the Congress at the time of the Lok Sabha elections, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ spokesperson too has said the UN very much hopes that in India and any country having elections, people’s “political and civil rights” are “protected” and everyone can vote in a “free and fair” atmosphere.
Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric made these remarks in the wake of the arrest of Kejriwal and the freezing of Congress’ bank accounts. The response from the UN comes a day after the US reacted to a similar question on Kejriwal’s arrest and freezing of the Congress’ bank accounts. On Wednesday, hours after India summoned a senior US diplomat to protest remarks on Kejriwal’s arrest, Washington reiterated that it encourages fair, transparent, timely legal processes.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials summoned Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena to their office in South Block in the Indian capital. The meeting lasted for 40 minutes. On Thursday, India said the US 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.
