'Don't worry about...': Jaishankar rejects UN official's remark on elections in India

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 4 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday dismissed a senior UN official’s recent remark on elections in India, saying that he does 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 spokesperson for UN Secretary General statement that they “hope” that in India, people’s “political and civil rights” were protected and everyone is able to vote in a “free & fair” atmosphere.

Jaishankar, who was here to campaign for his ministerial colleague and BJP candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar in the Lok Sabha polls, also said that the UN official made the comment on the Indian elections last week in response to a "very loaded question" during a press briefing at the UN.

"I don't need the United Nations to tell me our elections should be free & fair. I have the people of India. The people of India will ensure that elections are free & fair. So, don't worry about it," the minister told reporters during an interaction here.

Last week, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric was asked about the "political unrest" in India ahead of the upcoming national elections in the wake of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the freezing of the opposition Congress Party’s bank accounts.

“What we very much hope that in India, as in any country that is having elections, that everyone’s rights are protected, including political and civil rights, and everyone is able to vote in an atmosphere that is free and fair,” Dujarric had said. PTI