India hits back at USCIRF over call for sanctions against RSS, calls body ‘biased’
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India on Friday strongly hit back at the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) over its call for sanctions against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), with the Ministry of External Affairs dismissing the commission as a biased institution lacking 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 a media briefing.
The MEA’s remarks came after USCIRF officials called for sanctions against the RSS and urged the US government not to extend high-level diplomatic courtesies or hold meetings with its leaders.
The comments came ahead of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s scheduled visit to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom from August 25.
Bhagwat is expected to undertake the visit at the invitation of local associations and organisations associated with the Indian diaspora.