The United States has said it is closely following the reports of the arrest of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, a State Department spokesperson said, calling for ‘a fair legal process’, Reuters reported.
“We encourage a fair, transparent, and timely legal process for Chief Minister Kejriwal,” the U.S. spokesperson said in response to an emailed query about the case pertaining to the Aam Aadmi Party convenor’s arrest.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 after his name appeared multiple times in the chargesheet filed by the central agency in the case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the now scrapped Delhi excise policy.
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ED has alleged that the accused were in touch with Kejriwal for formulating the excise policy that resulted in undue benefits to them in return for which they paid kickbacks to the AAP.
Reacting to the Delhi CM’s arrest, the German foreign ministry’s spokesperson had remarked, “We have taken note, India is a democratic country. We assume and expect that the standards relating to independence of Judiciary and basic democratic principles will also be applied in this case. Like anyone facing accusations, Mr. Kejriwal is entitled to a fair and impartial trial, this includes he can make use of all available legal avenues without restrictions.”
“The presumption of innocence is a central element of the rule of law and must apply to him,” the spokesperson had added.
The ministry of external affairs had issued a stern response to the German foreign ministry spokesperson’s statement. “The German Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi was summoned today and conveyed India’s strong protest on their Foreign Office Spokesperson’s comments on our internal affairs. We see such remarks as interfering in our judicial process and undermining the independence of judiciary,” the MEA had stated.
Asked about India’s protest to Germany, the State Department spokesperson said: “We would refer you to the German Foreign Ministry for comment on their discussions with the Indian government.”
(With Reuters input)
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