Washington, DC, October 9
The United States Department of State on Tuesday (local time) said that it has seen the recently released report by USCIRF (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom) on India, and added that they continue to monitor the religious freedom situation in every country.
The official spokesperson of the US State Department, Matthew Miller, further underlined that the USCIRF is an "independent commission", and is "not a part of the the State Department."
"Yeah, so I - we've seen the report. USCIRF is an independent commission that provides policy recommendations to the Executive Branch as well as to Congress. It's not a part of the State Department or part of the Executive Branch," Miller said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
Miller's comments came in response to a media query on the newly released report by the US Commission on Religious Freedom on India, and it asking the State Department to impose sanctions on some individuals and entities, and also designate India CPC.
"I think as you know, after careful review in December of last year, the Secretary assessed that India did not meet the threshold for designation as a Country of Particular Concern, but we continue to carefully monitor the religious freedom situation in every country, including India," the State Department spokesperson further added.
The USCIRF, in its report, alleged violations of religious freedom in India.
The Ministry of External Affairs on October 3, rubbished the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom's (USCIRF) report on religious freedom in India, terming it "malicious," which discredits the organisation further.
It further called USCIRF a "biassed organisation" with a political agenda, which continues to misrepresent facts and peddles a "motivated narrative" about India.
"Our views on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) are well known. It is a biased organization 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," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.
The MEA also urged USCIRF to desist from such "agenda driven efforts" and utilise time more productively on addressing human rights issues in the US.
"We would urge 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," the statement added.