The United States on Thursday responded to Russia's recent allegation of interference in India's Lok Sabha elections by stating that it does not interfere in electoral processes.
The United States on Thursday responded to Russia's recent allegation of interference in India's Lok Sabha elections by stating that it does not interfere in electoral processes of neither India nor any other country in the world. Emphasizing that the elections are a matter for the Indian people to decide, the US refuted Russia's claim of destabilization efforts.
“No, of course, we don’t involve ourselves in elections in India as we don’t involve ourselves in elections anywhere in the world. Those are decisions for the people of India to make,” sad US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller.
🇮🇳🇺🇸 U.S. tries to avoid Russian allegations of interference in Indian elections
😂 "No, of course, we are not engaging ourselves in elections in India as we do not engage ourselves in elections anywhere in the world," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a… pic.twitter.com/efmLCADPFl
This week, Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, accused the US of baselessly accusing India and other nations of interference in elections.
“Regular unfounded accusations by the United States against New Delhi… we see that they groundlessly accuse not only India but also many other states of violating religious freedoms are a reflection of the United States’ misunderstanding of the national mentality, the historical context of the development of the Indian state and disrespect for India as a state,” said Zakharova.
The remarks were made in connection with a media report concerning an alleged plot to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Sing Pannun. The US has claimed that an Indian official, reportedly from the Indian intelligence agency RAW, was implicated in the conspiracy to kill Pannun on US territory.
“The reason is that they try to unbalance the internal political situation in India in order to complicate the (ongoing) general parliamentary elections. That is part of meddling into India’s internal affairs,” RT further quoted Zakharova as saying.
Zakharova further said, “The Washington Post, it seems to me, should use the term ‘repressive regime’ and everything you quoted in relation to Washington. It is difficult to imagine a more repressive regime than Washington, both in domestic and international affairs.”
State Department Spokesperson Miller dismissed Zakharova's accusation, but refrained from commenting on the purported Pannun plot.
“There is a publicly returned indictment that contains alleged facts. They are allegations until they’re proven before a jury that anyone can go and read. I won’t speak to them here because of course it’s an ongoing legal matter and I’ll leave it at that,” said Miller.