US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday declined to comment on protests against the Election Commission in India, describing them as a domestic political matter. He also criticised United Nations human rights experts who called for an independent investigation into the handling of the demonstrations.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai during his official visit to India, Rubio said Washington would not intervene in the country’s internal politics.
“It’s a domestic political matter. I’m not going to get involved in their politics. This is a democracy. They have elections here, so I’m not going to opine on their domestic political matters,” he said.
Asked about the UN experts’ criticism, Rubio responded: “The UN experts, my favourite. The UN experts are the oxymoron.”
His remarks came a day after more than 20 UN human rights experts urged Indian authorities to investigate allegations of excessive force and arbitrary detentions during recent protests. The experts also raised concerns about restrictions on peaceful assembly.
The demonstrations, organised by opposition parties and student groups, have called for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. Protesters have raised concerns about the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
India has rejected the UN experts’ criticism, describing the allegations as unverified and based on incomplete statistics. Indian diplomat Barkha Tamrakar told the United Nations that human rights concerns should not be used for political pressure or selective scrutiny.
Rubio said protests were part of democratic political discourse, while distinguishing peaceful demonstrations from violent unrest.