AMN / NEW DELHI
India today lodged a protest over Germany’s remarks on the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi liquor policy case. The Ministry of External Affairs said that German foreign ministry spokesperson’s remarks were a “blatant interference in India’s internal matters”.
MEA today summoned German Deputy Chief of Mission conveying India’s strong protest on their Foreign Office Spokesperson’s comments on our internal affairs. “We see such remarks as interfering in our judicial process and undermining the independence of our judiciary.”
The complaint comes hours after the German Foreign Ministry said they expected Mr Kejriwal to get a fair and impartial trial as India is a democratic nation.
“We have taken note, India is a democratic country. We assume and expect that the standards relating to independence of Judiciary and basic democratic principles will also be applied in this case. Like anyone facing accusations, Mr Kejriwal is entitled to a fair and impartial trial, this includes he can make use of all available legal avenues without restrictions. The presumption of innocence is a central element of the rule of law and must apply to him,” the spokesperson of the German Foreign Ministry said earlier.
Kejriwal has been arrested in the Delhi liquor policy scam case; the central agency has accused the AAP leader of being a “conspirator”. The ED believes the now-scrapped policy provided an impossibly high profit margin of nearly 185 per cent for retailers and 12 per cent for wholesalers.