India’s Ministry of External Affairs summoned a US State Department official after the department called for a fair legal process for opposition leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal following his arrest last week. “We take strong objection to the remarks of the Spokesperson of the US State Department about certain legal proceedings in India,” the Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
Kejriwal was taken into custody on March 21 following a raid on his home by the federal financial crimes agency, members of his Aam Aadmi Party said, in the latest blow to an alliance of parties aiming to unseat Modi as he seeks a third consecutive term. He is one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fiercest critics and Kejriwal’s allies have claimed the arrest was politically motivated.