New Delhi, Oct 3 (UNI) India on Thursday slammed the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which has called for India to be designated as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’, terming it a biased organization with a political agenda even as it rejected its “malicious report”.
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, in a statement also said the USCIRF “would also be well advised to utilise its time more productively on addressing human rights issues in the United States”.
His statement read:
“Our views on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) are well known. It is a biased organization with a political agenda. It continues to misrepresent facts and peddles a motivated narrative about India. We reject this malicious report, which only serves to discredit USCIRF further.
“We would urge USCIRF to desist from such agenda driven efforts. The USCIRF would also be well advised to utilise its time more productively on addressing human rights issues in the United States.”
The USCIRF, in its latest report, said that it “continues to have ongoing concerns and has seen backsliding” in India, along with Egypt, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam on the issue of religious freedom.
It has recommended that the US Department of State designate India, along with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Nigeria, and Vietnam, as CPCs or countries of particular concern, for engaging in “systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom”.
