US Should Introspect Instead of Poking Nose Into India’s Domestic Affairs
Hours after Gloria Berbena, the US deputy chief of mission in New Delhi, was summoned by the foreign ministry, the US State Department re-iterated its call for “fair, transparent and timely legal processes” in Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest and the Congress Party's frozen bank account.
SputnikWashington should judge itself before other nations, an Indian pundit has told Sputnik India.
As India prepares for Lok Sabha parliamentary elections, the US is continuously interfering in country’s internal matters ranging from the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to the arrest of Delhi State Chief Arvind Kejriwal — and now the freezing of the Congress party's bank account.
On Wednesday, hours after
Gloria Berbena, the US deputy chief of mission in New Delhi, was issued a strong-worded demarche,
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the US continues to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi State Chief Arvind Kejriwal.
Turning to the Congress party’s bank accounts, Miller said: “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 said the US encourages “fair, transparent and timely legal processes” for each of these issues.
Political analyst
Desh Ratan Nigam told Sputnik India that the United States should first understand that this is
beyond the scope of the law of their government and they have no right to interfere in the internal and domestic matters of any country.
“If they're saying they continue to follow actions on Kejriwal’s arrest and 'fair, transparent and timely legal processes' is what they encourage, then they should also know that India has a robust judiciary which takes care of free and fair trial and appellate that we have up to the Supreme Court,” the political analyst said.
He added that India has a fair, well-defined and clear structure, which courts assure across the country
He noted US authorities' treatment of former president Donald Trump, who has been been debarred from contesting elections — which raise more questions than cases in India.
“They have to do some self-assessment and self-introspection on their own part instead of poking their nose into Indian domestic affairs,” Nigam stressed.
US Authorities Poorly Briefed
Miller's comments were unwarranted, the analyst said said, noting that US authorities have made irresponsible comments before. He argued that Washington had been poorly briefed about the frozen Congress party accounts, so its concerns were misplaced.
Nigam pointed out that Congress had ignored a tax assessment notice for 2018-19, followed by a second warning letter, after which they filed an appeal to the Commissioner of Income tax. But that was rejected and the party was ordered to deposit a minimum amount under the law.
everything is being done as per law and Congress is also availing judicial process but didn’t get any relief from High Court.
“Apart from this, the Congress is free to utilise the money in the other five or six accounts that it has. It is not that the party has only one bank account," Nigam said. "Congress has made a very grand party office in Delhi which they are not inaugurating because people will start saying that on one hand they are talking about accounts getting frozen, [and] on the other hand they are inaugurating a lavish office.”
He added that while Congress is still going through the judicial process, the US is jumping into the fray and interfering in the internal matters of India.
India Sent Strong Message to US
Nigam welcomed the
Ministry of External Affairs' (MEA) demarche of the US and German diplomats as an excellent move, noting the length of the meeting with the US diplomat indicated the ministry took the matter very seriously.
“However, the fact is that loudmouth in US cannot be stopped. If you want to say something irresponsibly and if you are inadequately briefed or poorly briefed, then it's not our fault," Nigam said. the government's actions "sent a clear signal to the respective governments through their diplomatic community out here in Delhi.”
He added that the Indian government had taken a very clear stand that the issue it is no business of foreign states, and the country’s internal constitutional structures are capable of handling it.
Turning to international relations between the two countries, Nigam said that the US must understand that this was no longer a unipolar or bipolar world but a multipolar world with India becoming the voice of the Global South.
“I think it will be in the interest of the US government to be in good relations with India, especially in the changed world scenario,” he advised.