Comments on our electoral, legal processes completely unacceptable: India on US' remarks over Kejriwal arrest

Addressing a weekly press conference, Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that in India, legal processes are driven only by the rule of law, and anyone who has a similar ethos, especially fellow democracies, should have no difficulty appreciating this fact.

On Wednesday, India lodged a strong objection and protest with the senior official from the US embassy concerning the comments made by the US State Department.

"India is proud of its independent and robust democratic institutions. We are committed to protecting them from any form of undue external influence," he said.

The spokesperson said, "Mutual respect and understanding are the foundation of international relations, and states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others."

United States has reiterated its call for fair, transparent, and timely legal processes even after India summoned a US diplomat and objected to remarks on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest.

US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller, during a media briefing, not only restricted his comments to Kejriwal's arrest but also raised questions on Congress's allegations of freezing its bank accounts.

He said the US encourages 'fair and transparent legal processes'.

"We are also aware of the Congress party's allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections. And we encourage fair, transparent and timely legal processes for each of these issues," Miller had said.

Meanwhile, on the Baltimore Bridge collapse incident, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said of the 21 crew members, 20 are Indians, and all of them are in good health.

"Our embassies are in close touch with the Indians on board and also the local authorities in this matter," he said.

On Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's visit to India, Jaiswal said, "The visit of the Ukrainian Foreign Minister is happening at the invitation of EAM (External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar), and he will have a bilateral engagement with EAM where they will review the intergovernmental commission that was held earlier."

Jaiswal informed that they will also discuss global and regional issues of common concern, and there are several other engagements also lined up for the Ukrainian Foreign Minister."

On the issue of Arunachal Pradesh, he said, "Our position on the matter of Arunachal Pradesh has been made very clear time and again... China may repeat its baseless claims as many times as they want. That is not going to change our position. Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will remain an integral and inalienable part of India."

[With UNI inputs]