Washington DC [US], August 27 (HBTV): The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has released a statement saying that religious freedom in India is deteriorating and that the US must consider sanctions against the Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The USCIRF's statement comes at a time when RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is scheduled to deliver a speech at Madison Square Garden.
The organisation stated on Wednesday (local time), 'Religious freedom conditions in India continue to deteriorate as violence and incitement are frequently used to target religious minority communities. We urge the U.S. government to consider targeted sanctions against RSS members and Indian officials complicit in religious freedom violations, including revoking the visa issued to Mohan Bhagwat and making him ineligible for future entry into the United States.'
'The U.S. government has an opportunity to hold India accountable and signal that the United States stands for religious freedom for the people of India,' the organisation said.
The Ministry of External Affairs on August 21 had condemned the call given by USCIRF to bar meetings of the RSS chief in the US, calling the rights body 'biased' and saying it lacks credibility.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, during a media briefing, said that the commission has repeatedly made incorrect and provocative statements about India and that such statements should be ignored.
'We all know this is a biased institution. For years, it has made incorrect and provocative statements about India. We should ignore such institutions, as they have their own agendas and lack credibility,' Jaiswal said during the briefing. (ANI)