India has rejected the concerns raised by the UN human rights office over the mass detention of protesters in Delhi, calling them “unwarranted” and an “unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of India.”
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued the statement on Sunday, a day after the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said it was concerned about reports of mass detentions of demonstrators, protest leaders, civil society members, lawyers and journalists before and during Saturday’s protests in the capital. It added that law enforcement authorities act strictly in accordance with the law and that courts remain open to anyone seeking redress. Protesters travelling by train were also taken into custody.
A Home Ministry official told Reuters that over 2,000 people had been detained, while other reports put the figure at around 3,000.
In its statement, the MEA said Indian citizens exercise the right to protest “subject to the maintenance of public order and safety. The ministry also accused the OHCHR of “extreme selectivity” in its public positions. It said violent responses to protests in India’s neighbourhood have gone uncommented on, as have law enforcement actions in the body’s own vicinity. Such double standards erode the OHCHR’s credibility and contribute to a loss of faith in multilateralism, according to the MEA.
Those detained included CPI(M) leader and former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and party general secretary M.A. Baby. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was also detained.
