After Germany and US, UN comments on Kejriwal’s arrest, frozen accounts of Congress

After United States’ and Germany’s remark, comes UN’s statement on Delhi Chief Minister’s Arvind Kejriwal arrest saying the world hopes everyone is able to vote in the country's parliamentary elections in a free and fair atmosphere.

Responding to the “political unrest” in India ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in the wake of Kejriwal’s arrest and the Congress's party allegations of freezing of their bank accounts, Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “What we very much hope that in India, as in any country that is having elections, that everyone's rights are protected, including political and civil rights, and everyone is able to vote in an atmosphere that is free and fair.”

On Thursday, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller reiterated his country's commitment to a "fair legal process.”

Miller said, “What we have said publicly is what I just said from here, that we encourage fair, transparent, and timely 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," he added.

The MEA condemned the US's remarks calling it “unwarranted and unacceptable.” "In India, legal processes are driven only by the rule of law," MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

Meanwhile, Germany has retracted its stance after India summoned a diplomat over the comments on Kejriwal's arrest. German Foreign Minister Spokesperson Sebastian Fischer has now voiced confidence in India's judicial system.

Earlier, Ministry of External Affairs had summoned the Deputy Head of Mission, Georg Enzweiler, “and conveyed India’s strong protest,” after Fischer’s said he hoped the “standards relating to the independence of the judiciary and basic democratic principles” would be applied in Kejriwal’s case.