UN Urges India That ‘Everyone’s Rights Protected’ In India’s Elections

The arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi excise policy case is garnering more and more international reactions. This time, the United Nations (UN) has commented on Kejriwal’s arrest.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hopes that in India’s elections, “everyone’s rights are protected”, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has said. “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”, he said on Thursday in response to a question from a Bangladeshi journalist at his daily briefing.

In making a general statement, Dujarric did not directly react to the journalist’s assertion that India was at a “crisis point” mentioning the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and what he said were the freezing of Congress Party funds.

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was responding to a question on the “political unrest” in India ahead of the upcoming general elections in the wake of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the freezing of the opposition Congress Party’s bank accounts.

“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 can vote in an atmosphere that is free and fair,” Dujarric said at a press conference here.

The UN spokesperson’s reaction comes days after the United States (US) and Germany reacted to the Delhi chief minister’s arrest. On Monday (March 25), a US State Department spokesperson said that it was closely following reports on Kejriwal’s arrest, and urged a fair, transparent, and legal process for him.

Germany, meanwhile, said that like anyone facing accusations, Kejriwal was “entitled to a fair and impartial trial, this includes he can make use of all available legal avenues without restrictions.”