India summons US diplomat Gloria Berbena over remarks on Arvind Kejriwal arrest

India summons US diplomat : The Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi summoned the US' Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena, today. The meeting lasted for approximately 40 minutes.

As of now, no specifics about the meeting have been disclosed. However, this comes following remarks from a US State Department representative expressing awareness of reports regarding the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The spokesperson called on New Delhi to ensure "a fair and timely legal process" for the jailed Aam Aadmi Party leader. 

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Strongly objecting to the remarks of the US State Department Spokesperson, the Ministry of External Affairs said in statement, “We take strong objection to the remarks of the Spokesperson of the US State Department about certain legal proceedings in India. In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others. This responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents. India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted." 

The remarks of US' Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena came days after remarks of German Foreign Office spokesperson's that highlighted that India's 'judicial process' and 'undermining the independence' of the Indian judiciary.' 

The MEA lodged a strong protest with the German envoy over the 'blatant interference' in India's internal matters by the country's foreign office.

Also Read: Delhi Excise Policy Case: List of top leaders arrested in 'liquor scam'

The Aam Aadmi Party's National Convenor was arrested on March 21 for alleged misdoings in the now-scrapped Delhi Excise policy case under an ongoing money laundering probe by the ED. He is in ED custody till March 28.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities and money laundering in framing and implementing the Delhi excise policy case 2022, which was later scrapped.

Before Arvind Kejriwal, Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpalli, Sameer Mahindru, P Sarath Chandra, Binay Babu, Amit Arora, Gautam Malhotra, Raghav Manguta, Rajesh Joshi, Aman Dhal, Arun Pillai, Manish Sisodia, Dinesh Arora, Sanjay Singh, and K. Kavita have been arrested. Notably, a woman is among those detained.

Kejriwal's arrest comes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections which scheduled to take place between April 19 and June 1, as per the timetable released by the Election Commission earlier this month.

(With inputs from agencies)