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NEW DELHI: Responding to criticism of India in the report on international religious freedom for 2019 published by the US state department, India said on Thursday that it saw no locus standi for a foreign entity to pronounce on the constitutionally protected rights of Indian citizens and that the panel had exhibited its bias and lack of understanding.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) reports on India and its minorities have been a regular friction point with the Indian government vigorously rejecting its critical commentary.
In an indicator to its formal response, external affairs minister S Jaishankar had written to BJP MP Nishikant Dubey that the USCIRF has been known to make “prejudiced, i