India slams US body's religious freedom report: 'Biased, political agenda'

India on Thursday rejected the findings of a report released by a US government commission - the Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) - on religious freedom, saying it was a "biased organisation with a political agenda". India also said it had no expectations from the US government commission to understand India's diverse, pluralistic and democratic ethos.

New Delhi's response came after the USCIRF released its 2024 annual report and alleged that 17 countries, including India, were "engaging in or tolerating particularly severe violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief".

In a strong-worded response, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the USCIRF continued to "publish anti-India propaganda", masquerading as part of its annual report.

"The USCIRF released their report 2024 yesterday. They have been releasing their reports earlier as well. The USCIRF is known as a biased organisation with a political agenda. They continue to publish their propaganda on India, masquerading as part of an annual report," Jaiswal said at a weekly press briefing.

"We really have no expectations that USCIRF will even seek to understand India's diverse, pluralistic and democratic ethos. Their efforts to interfere in the largest electoral exercise in the world will never succeed," he added.