Foreign media sharpens lens on arrest of Arvind Kejriwal
Arvind Kejriwal with wife Sunita Kejriwal during Sundar Kand (Image credit X @AAPDelhi)
India summons German ambassador for remarks on Arvind Kejriwal arrest
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, March 23: The poll-eve arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seems earning foreign brickbats for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The German Foreign Ministry has said that Kejriwal is entitled for the rule of presumption of innocence. A host of foreign media is looking at the arrest of Kejriwal as a crackdown against the Opposition ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned the German ambassador in New Delhi. This is in response to the remarks of Berlin on the arrest of Kejriwal. The German foreign ministry said: “India is a democratic country. We have taken note of the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal. He is entitled for a fair trial. The basic rule of the presumption of innocence must apply to him.”
Several of the foreign media outlets are giving prime time space to the arrest of the Delhi Chief Minister. The BBC in a report described Kejriwal as the leading rival of Modi. The Sky News anchor in a comment said: “The arrest casts a shadow on the upcoming elections.” The CNA gave a wide coverage to the condemnation by the Opposition in India against the arrest of Kejriwal. The news channel claimed: “Kejriwal is an important voice within the Opposition bloc, the Indian National Democratic and Inclusive Alliance.”
The foreign media is also giving the background of the Congress allegations that the party has been financially crippled ahead of the elections. “The arrest of Kejriwal has come amid the Congress claims that the party’s bank accounts have been frozen ahead of the Lok Sabha elections,” said a foreign television. Several of the foreign media houses prominently covered the protest of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the national capital.
Qatar-based Al Jazeera in a report two days ago highlighted India’s poor ranking on the democracy index. It said: “India’s ranking sharply fell between 2016 and 2020 as per Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index.” The Doha-based broadcaster remarked, “India remains a flawed democracy”. India’s ranking in the democracy index was 41 last year.
The Congress parliamentary party leader Sonia Gandhi in a press conference two days ago had claimed decay in the democratic values. She alleged: “The main Opposition party just ahead of the election has been financially crippled.” The ruling BJP, however, has refuted claims of the Opposition. The BJP leaders have argued that the “Congress had ignored the notices of the Income Tax Department for the past two years”.
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