India on Thursday rejected the latest report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) which alleged a “deteriorating and concerning trajectory” for religious freedom in this country this year.
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‘We would urge the 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,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
He said India’s views on the USCIRF, said to be a bipartisan congressional advisory body, are well known. ”It is a biased organisation 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,” Jaiswal added.
The USCIRF recommended that the US Department of State designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern,” or CPC, or engaging in systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.