US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has dismissed UN human rights experts who have called for an independent probe into alleged police excesses against protesters in India, branding them an “oxymoron”, while maintaining that Washington would not comment on the country’s domestic political affairs.Asked about protests by students and opposition groups and the UN experts’ criticism of the police response, Rubio declined to weigh in on the allegations, saying India was a democracy where such matters had to be resolved by its people.“Oh, the UN experts, yeah, my favourite. The UN experts are the oxymoron,” Rubio said during an interaction with the press at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai.“No. It’s a domestic political matter. I mean, I’m not going to get involved in their politics. I mean, they have — this is a democracy. They have elections here, so I’m not going to opine on their domestic political matters,” he said.The remarks came a day after UN human rights experts urged Indian authorities to order an independent investigation into alleged excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions and restrictions on youth-led protests in New Delhi and other parts of the country.The experts cited reports of baton charges, preventive detentions and restrictions on demonstrations against electoral-roll revisions. They also raised concerns over the reported use of digital surveillance, biometric technologies and internet restrictions during the protests.According to the experts, more than 7,000 youths, journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders and political workers had reportedly been detained in Delhi, with most released after around 24 hours.The protests, led by student groups and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), centre on allegations that large-scale deletions from electoral rolls could disenfranchise eligible voters. The demonstrators have also demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The Election Commission maintains that the revisions are aimed at ensuring the accuracy of voter lists, while the BJP has rejected allegations of politically motivated manipulation.Rubio said public demonstrations were a feature of political discourse in democracies, including the United States, where protests took place regularly. He distinguished peaceful expressions of dissent from violent unrest involving vandalism, arson and destruction of property.“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,” he said.Pointing to the existence of an opposition in India, Rubio contrasted the country with Cuba, where, he said, political opponents could face imprisonment, repression or exile.His comments stopped short of endorsing the Indian government’s response to the protests or addressing the specific allegations raised by the UN experts.“We’re not going to comment on internal political matters. That’s for the Indian people to decide and navigate,” he said.The protests have continued amid legal proceedings against CJP leaders. Founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday appealed to party workers to suspend demonstrations until Diwali, while the campaign against the electoral-roll revisions and the demand for Kumar’s resignation remain unresolved.CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka remain in custody after a magistrate extended their judicial remand by two days on Monday. They were detained after allegedly entering Jantar Mantar, which police say is no longer a designated protest site, and breaching security restrictions.The party has challenged the custody order in the Delhi High Court, alleging procedural violations and infringement of fundamental rights.