India rejects US int'l religious freedom panel's report, calls it 'biased'

India has rejected a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), calling it "biased and motivated".

A statement issued by External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi said: "The USCIRF continues to regurgitate biased and motivated comments about India, this time in its 2023 annual report."

He went on to add that "we reject such misrepresentation of facts, which only serves to discredit USCIRF itself".

Bagchi further said that India "would urge USCIRF to desist from such efforts and develop a better understanding of India, its plurality, its democratic ethos and its constitutional mechanisms".

In its annual report on religious freedom, the USCIRF asked the State Department to designate India as a "country of particular concern" on the status of religious freedom along with several other nations.

The USCIRF has been making similar recommendations to the Department since 2020, which have not been accepted.

In its India section of the latest report, the panel alleged that in 2022, religious freedom conditions in India continued to worsen.

The Commission also urged President Joe 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.