US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed the United Nations’ (UN) criticism regarding recent protests in India, calling the term “UN experts” an “oxymoron”.
Twenty-four UN human rights experts had expressed their concerns over what they described as a “repeatedly heavy-handed police response” by the Indian government to peaceful youth-led demonstrations in New Delhi and other parts of India over the past three months.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Rubio refused to comment on what he called “a domestic political matter”. “I mean, I am not going to get involved in their politics. This is a democracy. They have elections here. So I am not going to align on their domestic political matters,” he added.
Rubio noted that expressing differing political opinions is a normal feature of open societies. “We have protests every day in the United States… in many ways, the fact that people are out there expressing themselves — I’m not talking about India; in any country in the world — is the sign that this is a country where there’s political discourse and so forth and differences of opinion.”
“I’m not talking about the riots, like what you’re seeing in Europe, where they’re vandalizing and breaking into things and burning down buildings. I’m not talking about that,” he added. He emphasized that democratic nations resolve political differences through elections rather than state suppression.
‘Selective targeting’
Rubio’s remarks came alongside a strong rebuttal from New Delhi at the United Nations. Indian diplomat Barkha Tamrakar rejected UN claims of excessive force, accusing international bodies of applying selective standards.
“Human rights should not be used as an instrument of political pressure or selective country targeting,” Tamrakar told the Assembly.
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The UN commentary followed widespread demonstrations led by opposition parties, student organizations, and youth-led civil society groups demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. Protesters have been demonstrating against the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, which has faced severe backlash following reports that flawed procedures led to the improper deletion of tens of millions of voters.
Trade deal and tariff clarification
Earlier, in a diplomatic outreach aimed at soothing recent anxieties in New Delhi, Rubio said that negotiations on a long-awaited India-US trade deal are in their final stages, with “99% of the work done.”
Speaking to The Indian ExpressRubio also addressed growing concerns over secondary tariff threats linked to Russian energy imports, tighter visa enforcement, and regional stability.
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Addressing friction over trade enforcement, Rubio clarified that Washington’s economic measures are part of a broader foreign policy strategy, not an effort to damage partner economies.
“None of these tariffs is done to punish or to harm India,” Rubio said. He acknowledged that global trade measures can create unintended friction. “There’s no doubt about it, and that’s why it has to be managed… very carefully.”