After US, Now UN Spokesperson Reacts To Kejriwal's Arrest: 'We Very Much Hope...'

After the reaction of United States to the arrest of Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal, a representative of the United Nations (UN) has also spoken on the same and said the body "hopes” that "people's political and civil rights" are protected in India

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, was on Thursday responding to a question on the “political unrest” in India ahead of the upcoming national elections in the wake of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the freezing of the opposition Congress Party's bank accounts, two events that even US has reacted to recently.

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“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,” Dujarric said at the daily press briefing Thursday.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on March 21 in the Delhi excise or liquor policy case. Arvind Kejriwal is in ED custody till March 28.

Allegations are that Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge repeatedly refuted by AAP.

What US Said On Kejriwal's Arrest

Reacting to Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the US government on Tuesday said they are "closely monitoring" his arrest and encourage a "fair, transparent, and timely legal process".

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"We encourage a fair, transparent, and timely legal process for Chief Minister Kejriwal," news agency Reuters quoted a US State Department spokesperson as saying.

Prompted by Washington's remark, the MEA on Wednesday summoned the US' Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena.

The US, hours later, again reacted to the summons to its diplomat over comments on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's arrest and also on the freezing of Congress bank accounts.

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"We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. 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," US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday again said the US State Department's recent remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are "unwarranted" and asserted the country is "proud of its independent and robust democratic institutions" and committed to protect them from any form of undue external influences.