'HOPE POLITICAL, CIVIL RIGHTS ARE PROTECTED': AFTER GERMANY AND US, UN REACTS TO KEJRIWAL'S ARREST

New Delhi: Days after India summoned the diplomats of the US and Germany over the respective countries' remarks on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, now the United Nations has stepped in and said that in India and other countries, it hopes that "political and civil rights" are "protected". Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, added that the the body hopes that everyone is able to vote in "free and fair" atmosphere, hinting at upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the country.

He made the comments while responding to a question on political unrest in India in the wake of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the freezing of the opposition Congress Party's bank accounts, reported news agency PTI.

"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 was quoted as saying by PTI at the daily press briefing Thursday.

Notably, Washington on Wednesday reiterated that it encourages fair, transparent, timely legal processes, hours after New Delhi summoned its diplomat to protest remarks on Kejriwal's arrest.

Responding to summoning of the US diplomat in Delhi, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said, "I'm not going to talk about any private diplomatic conversations. But of course what we have said publicly is what I just said from here, that we encourage fair, transparent, timely legal processes. We don't think anyone should object to that, and we'll make the same thing clear privately."

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was on March 21 in a money laundering case in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case and sent to ED's remand for interrogation. On Wednesday, a Delhi court extended this custody to four days till April 1.

2024-03-29T05:14:18Z dg43tfdfdgfd