India objects to U.S. remarks on Delhi chief minister's arrest

India on Wednesday took strong objection to U.S. remarks on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest.

"We take strong objection to the remarks of the spokesperson of the U.S. State Department about certain legal proceedings in India," India's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others," the statement said.

The Foreign Ministry also summoned senior U.S. diplomat Gloria Berbena.

Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Indian federal government's financial crime-fighting agency on charges of corruption related to his direct involvement in the formulation of an excise policy favoring specific individuals.

Investigations into the Delhi excise policy case began in August 2022, when India's premier investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), accused the Delhi government of using the policy to favor certain liquor dealers who had allegedly paid bribes. The policy was subsequently scrapped.

Several key leaders of the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) headed by Kejriwal are now imprisoned in connection with the excise case. APP rejects any wrongdoing and says their leaders have been "falsely arrested" in a "fabricated case."

The AAP has been governing India's national capital territory for over a decade. The party also governs the north Indian state of Punjab.

Kejriwal's arrest came weeks before India's general elections, which are scheduled to begin on April 19.

The AAP is part of an alliance of around two dozen opposition parties namely Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), led by the Congress party that is trying to come together to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the upcoming elections.

(Cover: The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 6, 2023. /CFP)