"Blatantly Political": India Rejects US Body's Remarks On Gurdwara Attacks

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is a "biased" entity with a "blatantly" political agenda, New Delhi said on Tuesday, trashing remarks by two senior officials of the organisation claiming that Sikh gurdwaras have been targeted in India with vigilante attacks.External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also wondered why the USCIRF chose to remain silent on attacks on religious places in the US and on racial abuse targeting the Indian community in that country.Last week, two senior officials of the USCIRF, flagging concerns over "attacks" on gurdwaras in India, urged the US government to press New Delhi to hold perpetrators of such violence accountable."The USCIRF is a biased and ill-informed organisation with a blatantly political agenda," Jaiswal said, responding to a question on the comments by the USCIRF officials."It is particularly telling that the USCIRF and its commissioners have consistently chosen to remain silent on attacks on religious places in the US and on the hate crimes and racial abuse targeted at the Indian community in the US.