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This Week in AsiaPolitics

India slams interference by ‘fellow democracies’ US and Germany over opposition leader’s arrest

  • The row is just ‘a storm in a teacup’ and would not affect India’s ties with the US and Germany due to their common interests, analysts say
  • While one analyst says the issue would galvanise India’s opposition parties ahead of the election, another says it would not influence voters

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Arvind Kejriwal addresses the crowd after taking oath as Delhi Chief Minister in New Delhi, on February 16, 2020. Photo: Xinhua
Junaid Kathju
The arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a leader of one of India’s most prominent opposition parties, has triggered a diplomatic row after Germany and the United States called for his fair trial while India accused them of interfering in its internal affairs.

Analysts do not expect the issue to have a serious impact on bilateral relations between the countries involved, with one expert calling it part of the “standard diplomatic dance”.

Last week, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), India’s main financial crimes unit, arrested Kejriwal on corruption charges linked to an alleged alcohol excise scam.

Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which governs Delhi and Punjab and is a strong opponent to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, has denied the allegation, calling it a “fabricated case”.

The Indian government summoned the German embassy’s deputy chief of mission, Georg Enzweiler, last Saturday after Berlin said that Kejriwal is entitled to a “fair and impartial trial”.

Sebastian Fischer, the spokesman for Germany’s foreign office, said during a press conference last Friday that “we assume and expect that the standards relating to the independence of the judiciary and basic democratic principles will also be applied in this case”.

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