Unwarranted: MEA lodges complaint over Washington’s interference in internal affairs

US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena at South Block. Pic/PTI

India on Wednesday summoned a senior US diplomat and lodged a strong protest against Washington's remarks on the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. MEA officials summoned the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena at its office in South Block here. The meeting lasted for more than 30 minutes.

Reports had it that a US state department official had said that Washington "encouraged a fair, transparent and timely legal process for Chief Minister Kejriwal".

The MEA later in a statement said, "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," the statement said.

India's legal processes are based on "an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes," the MEA said while underlining that "casting aspersions on that is unwarranted".

The development comes days after India on March 23 had summoned the German deputy chief of mission here and lodged a strong protest against that country's foreign ministry's remarks on the arrest of the Delhi chief minister.

Kejriwal's health has deteriorated: AAP sources

The blood sugar level of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is diabetic, is fluctuating and his health has deteriorated in Enforcement Directorate custody, AAP sources claimed on Wednesday.

Arvind Kejriwal's blood sugar level dropped to 46 Mg at one point of time and according to doctors, such a drop is "very dangerous", they claimed. Earlier in the day, the chief minister's wife Sunita Kejriwal said in a digital briefing that she had met him in ED custody and his sugar level was fluctuating. She appealed people to pray for his health. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED last week.

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