The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday rejected the “biased and motivated” comments made by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) about India and urged the commission to develop a better understanding of India.
“The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) continues to regurgitate biased and motivated comments about India, this time in its 2023 annual report,” MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in response to media queries regarding comments on India in USCIRF’s annual report.
This response came after the US federal commission urged the Biden administration to impose targeted sanctions on Indian government agencies and officials responsible for “severe violations” of religious freedom in the country by freezing their assets.
The USCIRF also recommended to US Congress to raise the issue of religious freedom during US-India bilateral meetings and hold hearings on it.
In its annual report on religious freedom, the USCIRF asked the US State Department to designate India as a “country of particular concern” on the status of religious freedom along with several other nations.
Bagchi said India rejects such misrepresentation of facts, which only serves to discredit USCIRF itself and urged the commission to desist from such efforts.
“We would urge USCIRF to desist from such efforts and develop a better understanding of India, its plurality, its democratic ethos and its constitutional mechanisms,” the spokesperson said.
The USCIRF has been making similar recommendations to the State Department since 2020, which have not been accepted.
The recommendations of USCIRF are not mandatory for the State Department.
India has repeatedly slammed the USCIRF for “misrepresenting” facts. India has also described it as an “organisation of particular concern.”
(With PTI inputs)
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