US refutes Russian allegations of meddling in Indian elections

The US has denied any involvement in India's ongoing Lok Sabha elections, saying that it has adopted the same policy for such events taking place anywhere in the world.

"Of course, we don't involve ourselves in elections in India, as we don't involve ourselves in elections anywhere in the world. Those are decisions for the people of India to make," US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a media briefing in Washington on Thursday, 9 May.

Miller was responding to a question asking for his reaction on Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova's comments on Wednesday where she had said that the US is trying to "complicate" the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in India, by making "regular unfounded accusations" on threats to religious freedom in the country.

The US State Department official also refused to react to the ongoing investigation on the alleged plot to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

"There is a publicly-returned indictment that contains alleged facts. They're allegations until they're proven before a jury that anyone can go and read. I won't speak to them here because, of course, it's an ongoing legal matter. And I'll leave it at that," said Miller.