India rejects US panel's religious freedom report, calls it 'malicious'

The ministry of external affairs (MEA) on Thursday slammed a recent report by a US government commission on religious freedom in the country, calling it "malicious".

In a statement, the MEA said called United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) 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," it said.

The ministry urged 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," it said.

In its report, USCIRF flagged the alleged worsening of religious freedom in India and called for it to be designated as a "Country of Particular Concern".

The report was authored by senior policy analyst Sema Hasan.

The section on India describes the use of misinformation and disinformation -- including hate speech by government officials -- to incite violent attacks against religious minorities and their places of worship.

In its annual report, the USCIRF also recommended that the US Department of State designate India as a "Country of Particular Concern" for engaging in systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.

The state department has so far refrained from accepting the recommendations.

India and several Indian-American groups have in the past accused the USCIRF of biased, unscientific and agenda-driven reporting to malign the country.