The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday rejected a US religious freedom panel’s call for sanctions against members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), calling the organisation “biased” and lacking credibility.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) had been making what he described as “misleading and provocative statements” about India for years.
“The organisation you are talking about is known to everyone as a biased organisation,” Jaiswal said during a media briefing. “We should stay away from such organisations because they have their own agenda and at the same time have no credibility.”
The remarks came after USCIRF urged the US government on Wednesday to deny high-level meetings and diplomatic courtesies to RSS leaders and consider targeted sanctions against members allegedly responsible for violations of religious freedom.
The recommendation came ahead of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s planned visit to the US, scheduled to begin on August 25.
USCIRF Chair Asif Mahmood described the RSS as an umbrella organisation whose affiliated groups have allegedly been involved in attacks against religious minorities, including Muslims and Christians. Commissioner Gene Mills separately called for sanctions against RSS members accused of religious-freedom violations.
USCIRF’s criticism of India
USCIRF has repeatedly criticised India’s record on religious freedom. In its March annual report, the commission recommended that the US designate India as a “country of particular concern”, citing what it described as systematic and ongoing violations of religious freedom.
It also recommended targeted sanctions against individuals and organisations, including the RSS and India’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
The commission’s recommendations are not legally binding on the US government.
India rejected the March report as “distorted and selective”, accusing USCIRF of relying on questionable sources and ideological narratives.
USCIRF has also previously raised concerns over what it described as the relationship between the RSS and BJP and alleged discriminatory legislation concerning citizenship, religious conversion and cow slaughter.
