Marco Rubio called the protests in India a domestic matter.
The US will not get involved.
UN officials had questioned the crackdown.
India called the UN remarks misplaced.
Rubio is visiting India for three days.
The remarks came after the United Nations human rights office questioned the Delhi Police crackdown on Cockroach Janta Party leaders and urged India to respect the right to peaceful assembly, according to India TV.
Special Rapporteur Gina Romero’s report said young people in India face retaliation and stigmatisation for discussing issues such as mental health or gender justice, according to the same report.
India called the United Nations remarks misplaced and said reasonable restrictions remain in place even though people can protest freely, according to India TV.
India rejected the Special Rapporteur’s report, saying it relied on unnamed submissions cited in a footnote, according to the same report.
The Statesman’s headline says Rubio called the term UN experts an oxymoron. The full exchange behind that remark was not available in the reports reviewed.
Rubio’s visit aims to strengthen ties in energy, trade and investment, defence and critical technologies, according to India TV.
Rubio arrived in Mumbai on October 20, met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and then travelled to Jamnagar in Gujarat on October 21, according to Business Today.
Rubio said only a small number of items remain unresolved in the India-US trade agreement talks, according to Business Today.
Protests over the special intensive revision of electoral rolls and the removal of Jantar Mantar as a protest site have led to detentions and court cases in Delhi in recent weeks.
The reports reviewed carried no response from the Cockroach Janta Party or from the opposition to Rubio’s remarks.
The statements by the United Nations officials and by the Indian government are their own positions and have not been tested in a court.
Gateway of India, Mumbai (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
