No foreign entity or government has any locus standi to comment on the fundamental rights of Indian citizens, the government said on Thursday, rejecting a report by the US state department on the alleged curtailment of religious freedom in India.
'In India, legal advocates and faith leaders from across the country's diverse religious communities condemned a case of extreme hate speech against Muslims in the city of Haridwar, calling for the country to uphold its historical traditions of pluralism and tolerance'
Blinken asserts that America will continue to stand up for religious freedom around the world.
The report, released on June 21, alleged that some senior leaders of the BJP "made inflammatory speeches against minority communities".
"Our principled position remains that we see no locus standi for a foreign entity to pronounce on the state of our citizens' constitutionally protected rights," Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava said.
Muslim and secular organisations in the United States have hailed a congressional resolution by Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison (Democrat) 'recognising the tenth anniversary of the tragic communal violence in Gujarat'.
India previously rejected the US religious freedom report, saying it sees no locus standi for a foreign government to pronounce on the state of its citizens' constitutionally protected rights.
"Whenever we do compromise those rights, the world is worse off," Pompeo said.
The funding comes after a 2016 report found an increase in violent incidents by cow vigilantes mostly against Muslims in India and authorities often 'failed' to prosecute them.
'If Islamic State were to get entrenched in Bangladesh and Myanmar it will have disastrous implications for India as both countries border India's northeast, a restive and volatile region,' says Rajeev Sharma.
"We have many relationships...they have a history. We will do what is in our national interest and part of that strategic partnership is the ability of each country to comprehend and appreciate the national interest of the other," Jaishankar said.
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