Biased: India slams 'selective targeting' as US body seeks sanctions on RAW, RSS
India Today
Responding to media queries, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government "categorically rejects" the report and its characterisation of India. He said the commission has repeatedly presented a "distorted and selective picture" of the country.
The Centre on Monday strongly rejected a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) that recommended designating India as a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged violations of religious freedom and called for targeted sanctions against the external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
In its 2026 annual report, the USCIRF urged the United States government to designate India as a CPC for “engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations.” It also recommended freezing assets and imposing travel bans on individuals and entities allegedly responsible for or complicit in violations of religious freedom.
Responding to media queries, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government “categorically rejects” the report and its characterisation of India. He said the commission has repeatedly presented a “distorted and selective picture” of the country.
“We have taken note of the latest report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. We categorically reject its motivated and biased characterisation of India,” Jaiswal said.
He added that for several years the commission has relied on “questionable sources and ideological narratives rather than objective facts,” and that such repeated misrepresentations undermine the credibility of the body itself.
“Instead of persisting with selective criticism of India, USCIRF would do well to reflect on the disturbing incidents of vandalism and attacks on Hindu temples in the United States, selective targeting of India, and growing intolerance and intimidation of members of the Indian diaspora in the United States, which merit serious attention," Jaiswal said.
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