India slams USCIRF report claiming it targets minorities
The USCIRF cited the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which fast-tracks Indian citizenship for non-Muslim refugees fleeing persecution, and “nationwide campaigns of violence against religious minorities” as its reasons.
The government rejected on Tuesday a recommendation by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) that the Trump administration add India to a list of countries seen as systematic and egregious violators and sanction Indian government agencies and officials responsible for it.
The USCIRF cited the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which fast-tracks Indian citizenship for non-Muslim refugees fleeing persecution, and “nationwide campaigns of violence against religious minorities” as its reasons.
“We reject the observations on India in the USCIRF annual report. Its biased and tendentious comments against India are not new,” said external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.
“But on this occasion, its misrepresentation has reached new levels... We regard it as an organisation of particular concern and will treat it accordingly.”
The commission has recommended that the US designate India a “Country of Particular Concern” for “engaging in...religious freedom violations”.