The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday reacted to the US's second statement on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, and called the remarks "unwarranted" and "unacceptable".
"Any such external invitation on electoral and legal processes is completely unacceptable. In India, legal processes are driven only by the rule of law. Anyone who has a similar ethos, especially fellow democracies, should have no difficulty in appreciating this fact," said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
The MEA also said that India is proud of its "independent and robust" democratic institutions and is committed to protect them from any form of undue external influences.
"Mutual respect and understanding form the foundation of international relations and states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others," the statement said.
The MEA statement came after the US reiterated its call for "fair, transparent, timely legal processes" on Arvind Kejriwal's arrest.
"We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal. We encourage fair, transparent and timely legal processes for each of these issues," US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said earlier today.
Miller's remarks came a day after India summoned a US diplomat and objected to the US's earlier remarks on Arvind Kejriwal's arrest.
The US spokesperson was responding to a question during the State Department briefing about India summoning Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena in Delhi.
Citing "private diplomatic conversations", Miller refused to comment on India summoning the US diplomat.
When asked about Congress's claim of freezing of its bank accounts, Miller said, "We are also aware of Congress'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".
India had also taken strong objection to the US's earlier remarks on Kejriwal's arrest.
"We take strong objection to the remarks of the Spokesperson of the US State Department about certain legal proceedings in India," the MEA said in a statement after the US diplomat was summoned to its office in Delhi's South Block.
"In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others. This responsibility is even more so in the case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents," the statement further said.
