India rejects US panel's 'malicious' religious freedom report, offers advice

The Ministry of External Affairs said the US report misrepresents facts about India and promotes a "motivated narrative."

In Short

• Government says US panel (USCIRF) biased, has political agenda
• Says report on religious freedom misrepresents facts about India
• Advises the panel to focus on human rights issues in US

The government has strongly dismissed the latest report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), labeling the organisation as biased and politically motivated.

The report by the US federal government commission alleged worsening of religious freedom in India and called for it to be designated as a "Country of Particular Concern".

In response to media queries on the report, the Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, said the report misrepresents facts about India and promotes a "motivated narrative."

“Our views on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) are well known. It is a biased organisation with a political agenda. It continues to misrepresent facts and peddles a motivated narrative about India,” said Randhir Jaiswal said.

The MEA said that the government rejects the "malicious" report. “This report only serves to discredit USCIRF further,” he added.

The spokesperson urged the commission to refrain from pursuing such "agenda-driven" efforts and suggested that USCIRF would benefit from focusing its attention on addressing human rights issues within the United States.

India has consistently criticised the USCIRF for its reports, accusing the commission of harbouring a biased stance on religious freedom in the country.

This is not the first time India has spoken against the findings of a report by the US panel on religious freedom. The government has previously slammed the reports for "lacking in true understanding of India's social dynamics" and said the panel continued to "publish anti-India propaganda."