Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest in the alleged money laundering case linked to the Delhi liquor policy is an internal matter of Bharat. Kejriwal is being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate and he was arrested only when he flouted ED’s summons multiple times, blatantly refusing to comply with them claiming that it is a politically manipulated organization running on the instructions of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Yet, western countries don’t seem to quite agree on Kejriwal’s arrest being Bharat’s internal matter. First, a German diplomat lectured Bharat on its democracy, and then a US diplomat followed suit regarding Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest. It’s not the first time in the history of world politics that a politician holding public office is under trial on charges of corruption.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was literally forced to resign after an investigation into the Partygate scandal found he misled parliament and recommended a lengthy suspension from the UK’s House of Commons. Johnson issued many statements saying that he was being unfairly targeted and there was a witch-hunt going on against him. Yet, no international media outlet claimed that democracy in the UK was under threat. No foreign diplomats issued provocative statements attacking British democracy.
Similarly, in the US, former President Donald Trump was massively witch-hunted in the wake of the 2021 Capitol Hill riots. The Democrat government of the US used all its power to prevent Trump from contesting the 2024 US elections, fielding all possible tactics to bar him from contesting elections. He is involved in long legal battles owing to the Capitol Hill incident. Trump somehow escaped arrest but more than 1,200 people have been charged with taking part in the riot, and more than 900 have either pleaded guilty or been convicted following a trial, as per various media reports. Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded the release of those imprisoned calling them “hostages”. Yet, no international media publication has published articles claiming that democracy in the US is under threat because of the treatment being meted out to a powerful politician in the opposition. No country has issued diplomatic statements asking the US to ensure a “fair trial” for former US President Donald Trump.
Yet, the likes of the US and Germany think it’s completely alright to meddle in the international affairs of Bharat even as the country is all set to hold general elections barely in a couple of weeks. What gives the west the courage and leverage for peddling such high-handed anti-Bharat rhetoric? It can be perhaps attributed to the colonial hangover and the general attitude of subservience to the west of the previous non-BJP governments of Bharat.
It’s the resultant impact of decades of intellectual slavery and sycophancy that our mainstream English language media lacks any critical coverage of the west. They just regurgitate the western viewpoint; the tone and point of view of some of these publications give you the impression that these are not Bharatiya publications you are reading but mouthpieces of the west. Similarly, Bharat’s foreign policy under successive Congress governments has lacked teeth. S Jaishankar is perhaps the first External Affairs Minister of Bharat who has made it a regular feature to critique the western world for its hypocrisy and double standards. Jaishankar has taken the west to task on many occasions at various international forums and meets. Can you recall anything of similar effect having been said by the Manmohan Singh government regarding western countries meddling in Bharat’s internal affairs? Probably not.
It’s decades of uncritical and passive acceptance of whatever the west said by successive Congress governments that have given the west the chance to create an entire anti-Bharat woke ecosystem within Bharat itself. The Congress since the time of our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru has been under the spell of communists. Thus, be it the Congress party or communists, patriotism has never been that much of a concern for them. Patriotism has often been sacrificed at the altar of fancy intellectual gibberish calling for being critical of one’s own country, respecting all viewpoints, and all that. This added to extreme awe for all things western and supreme adulation for the English language rooted in colonial sycophancy, has made Bharat an experimental ground for all sorts of woke- leftist breaking Bharat forces.
However, the aggressive foreign policy of the Modi government has changed this to a considerable extent. Whenever any western diplomat or spokesperson meddles in Bharatiya politics or says something controversial about our democracy, the rights of minorities, etc., Bharat makes it a point to give a sharp retort. It’s a result of our changed stance only that no third western country has come out in the open asking for “justice for Kejriwal” after Bharat summoned diplomats from both the US and Germany over their anti-Bharat remarks.
Germany went to the extent of changing its tone after Bharat summoned the envoy over remarks concerning Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest! A German foreign office spokesperson reportedly expressed confidence in the Bharatiya constitution and said, “The Indian constitution – and I can say this from my own perspective as I was posted in India myself – guarantees fundamental human values and freedoms. And we share these democratic values with India as an important partner in Asia”.
This seems to be quite a u-turn from Germany’s original position on the Kejriwal matter. After Kejriwal’s arrest, Sebastian Fischer, a German foreign office spokesperson had said it had taken note of the arrest and expected basic democratic principles to 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 had reportedly said.
Bharat retorted sharply to the comments issuing a statement saying, “We see such remarks as interfering in our judicial process and undermining the independence of our judiciary. India is a vibrant and robust democracy with rule of law. As in all legal cases in the country, and elsewhere in the democratic world, law will take its own course in the instant matter. Biased assumptions made on this account are most unwarranted”.
Bharat also summoned the Deputy Head of Mission of the German Embassy, George Enzweiler, to lodge an official protest. The tough stance taken by the Ministry of External Affairs made Germany change its stance and it again issued a statement expressing faith in Bharat’s democracy and judiciary.
The US has a history of meddling in the internal affairs of Bharat. From the Kashmir issue to CAA, it has a history of issuing unwarranted summons and lectures to Bharat that can be construed as not just interesting in the internal matters of Bharat, but also pose a threat to the integrity and sovereignty of our nation.
In the Arvind Kejriwal arrest case too, the US State Department made comments that it expected Bharat to adhere to due legal processes and give Kejirwal a free trial. Bharat summoned US diplomat Gloria Berbena for questioning about the remarks. Bharat categorically criticized these comments urging the US not to interfere in Bharat’s internal matters. But unlike Germany, the US didn’t change its stance. On the contrary, it sharpened its anti-Bharat rhetoric even further as the US state department spokesperson attacked Bharat again insinuating not just that the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal could be a conspiracy of the Modi government, but also bringing in the issue of investigation of finances of the Congress party.
“We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. We are also aware of the Congress party’s allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections. And we encourage fair, transparent, and timely legal processes for each of these issues”.
It seems the likes of the US need an excuse to meddle in Bharatiya elections on the pretext of safeguarding democracy and all that. How delusional is the US in thinking of itself as the self-anointed savior of democracy even as it routinely flouts all rules of democracy and blatantly interferes in the internal matters of all countries turning some of these into war zones on some pretext or the other, we have spoken about many times and won’t dwell on it again. But with these elections being crucial for Bharat, it certainly seems the US is in the mood for interfering in our electoral process.
Perhaps that’s why the US spokesperson brought in the issue of the Congress party’s finances along with Kejriwal’s arrest. One wouldn’t be surprised if the opposition raises a hue and cry about EVMs again, and if the west starts issuing summons to Bharat in the middle of election season lecturing it that Bharat must ensure free and fair elections. Such comments by spokespersons of western governments interfering in Bharat’s internal matters are fairly common and outside of the election season, one could probably just dismiss these and move on. But with elections barely a couple of weeks away, the government realizes it cannot take this interference lightly and that this could be a testing ground for some bigger anti-Bharat conspiracy during elections. Thus, the government has done the right thing by being blunt with these countries and summoning their diplomats.
The US of course is not going to give up easily. It’s a standard component of the US foreign policy to use this rhetoric about democracy and human rights to intimidate and blackmail countries that don’t tow its line. With an assertive government at the centre, the US is not happy with Bharat on many counts. To date, Bharat maintains its independent foreign policy on Russia, boldly defying US threats and intimidation over its pro-Russia stance. Despite overwhelming pressure from western countries, Bharat refused to take an extreme anti-Russia stand in the Russia-Ukraine war and instead chose to play the mediator. The thing is Bharat evaluates its strategic interests and tows its own line. This obviously doesn’t suit US interests and that’s why it jumps at every opportunity to intimidate and blackmail Bharat in the garb of saving democracy.
Bharat is indeed doing the right thing by taking the west to task over its repeated interference in our internal affairs. However, I think it’s high time Bharat goes a step further and starts proactively shaping the narrative by taking the west to task over its alleged lapses in democracy and human rights.
