US refutes Russia's meddling charge: 'Don't involve ourselves in Indian polls'

"No, of course, we don't involve ourselves in elections in India," US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said, refuting Russian allegations accusing America of meddling in the Lok Sabha polls.

A day ago, Russia had claimed that the United States was trying to interfere in India's parliamentary elections and "unbalance" the internal political situation in the country.

In a media briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova also said the US was yet to provide "reliable evidence" of the involvement of Indian citizens in the foiled murder plot against Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

"No, 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," Miller said in a press conference.

"Regular unfounded accusations by the United States against New Delhi... we see that they groundlessly accuse not only India but also many other statesâ€æof violating religious freedoms are a reflection of the United States' misunderstanding of the national mentality, the historical context of the development of the Indian state and disrespect for India as a state," Zakharova had told reporters in Moscow, calling it 'colonial mentality' of the US.