Don’t need UN to tell us poll should be free and fair: EAM S Jaishankar

New Delhi, April 4

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday dismissed a senior UN official’s recent remarks on elections in India, saying that he did not need the global body to tell that the elections in the country should be “free & fair”.

His comments came in response to a query regarding a statement made by a spokesperson for the UN Secretary General that they “hope” that in India, people’s “political and civil rights” are protected and everyone is able to vote in a “free & fair” atmosphere.

Jaishankar also revealed that the MEA had called in the Russian ambassador over youth being lured to fight for the Russian army and promised the “toughest legal action” against agents who “duped” them.

“This is a matter of very, very deep concern for us, very strong concern for us. We called in the Russian ambassador. Our ambassador in Moscow was instructed to go to the foreign ministry. It is totally unacceptable that any Indian should be taken to a conflict zone and in any manner be made to work for a conflict, for an army,” said Jaishankar during a media interaction in Thiruvananthapuram.

The minister indicated that the government had no fixed numbers about the Indian youth that had been inducted into the Russian army and said efforts were on to ascertain how many of them were still there. “We are finding out how many such Indians there are. We are trying to get them back. Even in the past few days, I know some people have come back….but it is something we take very seriously and very strongly,” he said. “I will tell you, the toughest legal action will be taken in this case. I mean, this is something that is absolutely unacceptable,” he said.

Last month, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan had written to Jaishankar seeking assistance in repatriating three Kerala residents who claimed to have been lured into fighting for the Russian army. Two Indians have died so far in the conflict zone in Ukraine.

MEA sidesteps Kachchatheevu row

• The MEA avoided stepping into the row over ceding of Kachchatheevu to Sri Lanka in 1974 and instead drew attention to Jaishankar’s recent statement
• Asked at a media briefing about various misgivings about PM Modi and Jaishankar raking up the issue 50 years after it was settled, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal referred to statements by S Jaishankar on the issue