India has described the concerns raised by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) regarding the detention of hundreds of the Cockroach Janta Party’s supporters as “unwarranted interference in the country’s internal affairs”.
“India is the world’s largest democracy, where the right to peaceful assembly is guaranteed by our Constitution and safeguarded by robust institutions, an independent judiciary, and a free media. As in every democracy, Indian citizens exercise this right subject to reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order. “The OHCHR’s concerns are misplaced and constitute an unwarranted interference in the internal affairs of India.
Nearly 3,000 people, including CJP leaders, supporters, and opposition leaders, were detained by the Delhi Police as they attempted to reach Jantar Mantar to launch a sit-in protest seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
In a strongly worded statement, New Delhi posted on its India at UN account on X, saying OHCHR’s concerns were misplaced and that the UN body should devote its attention to “large-scale” protests elsewhere. The authorities, for their part, act in accordance with the law, and our courts remain available to all for the redressal of any grievances,” India said. In a statement on Saturday, UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said the office was “concerned by reports of mass detentions in India of demonstrators, protest leaders, members of civil society organisations, lawyers and journalists, before and during today’s large-scale demonstrations in Delhi”. “We call on the authorities to ensure that the right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and fulfilled,” it said, adding, “Restrictions on peaceful protests must meet strict tests of necessity and proportionality. In this context, the OHCHR would also do well to devote comparable attention to large-scale protests elsewhere, consistent with its mandate of impartiality and non-selectivity,” it said.
