‘Foreign meddling bad habit, will strongly resist’

PTI

Ahmedabad, April 2

In a stern warning to the international community on Tuesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar cautioned against unwarranted political commentary on India's internal matters, stressing that any such interference would be met with a “very strong reply”. Jaishankar’s remarks came in the wake of recent statements by envoys from the US, Germany, and the United Nations regarding the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate. India has vehemently protested these statements.

“Somebody asked a person from the UN (about Kejriwal's arrest), and he gave some reply. But in other cases, I would say very frankly these are old habits, these are bad habits,” he told reporters here. The Minister emphasised the importance of respecting the sovereignty of nations and refraining from meddling in each other’s domestic affairs.

“There is a certain ‘maryada’ (restraint) among countries. We are sovereign countries, we should not be interfering in each other's internal affairs, we should not be passing comments about each other's politics,” he added. There are certain etiquettes, conventions and practices which must be followed in international relations, the minister said, adding that if a foreign country comments on India’s politics, “they will get a very strong reply from us, and that is what has happened”.

“We sincerely urge all the countries in the world that by all means you have your views about the world, but no country has the right to comment on another country’s politics especially in situations like this,” the Union External Affairs Minister said.

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