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India summoned a top US diplomat to complain about comments made by the US State Department regarding the arrest last week of an opposition leader, according to people familiar with the matter.

Gloria Berbena, the deputy chief of the US embassy, was called to a meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private.

A US State Department spokesman, speaking on background, said Tuesday it’s closely following the reports of the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi and leader of the opposition Aam Aadmi Party. The US encourages a fair, transparent, and timely legal process, the spokesman said.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement Wednesday it raised “strong objections” to the comments, but didn’t disclose that Berbena had been summoned.  

“Casting aspersions are unwarranted,” Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesman for the ministry, said in the statement. “States are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of the others.”

The US embassy didn’t immediately respond to requests for further information. India’s MEA also didn’t respond to an email seeking details on the summoning of the US diplomat.

Kejriwal was arrested last week by the anti-money laundering agency in relation to a bribery case, prompting a backlash from opposition parties accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of using federal agencies to target them. The arrest came just weeks before India holds elections. Kejriwal’s party governs Delhi, the capital, and the northern Indian state of Punjab. 

India recently raised similar objections after German officials commented about Kejriwal’s arrest. In a March 23 statement from the MEA, it said Germany’s deputy chief of mission was summoned to a meeting to register New Delhi’s disapproval.

--With assistance from Swati Gupta.

(Updates with diplomat being summoned.)

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