The external affairs ministry on Thursday alleged that the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was trying to interfere in India's elections after the bipartisan US federal government agency recommended designating India a "Country of Particular Concern (CPC)" for the fifth year in a row.

According to the USCIRF, a CPC is one that commits "systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom". The commission is set up as per the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).

"For countries designated as CPCs, IRFA provides the secretary of State with a range of flexible and specific policy options (referred to as Presidential actions) to address serious violations of religious freedom. These options, which can include sanctions or a waiver of actions, are not automatically imposed."

The US state department has not accepted the USCIRF recommendation to designate India as a CPC in the previous four years under both the Trump White House and the Biden administration.

Reacting to the USCIRF recommendation, external affairs ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said: "The USCIRF is known as a biased organisation with a political agenda. They continue to publish their propaganda on India masquerading as part of an annual report. We really have no expectation that USCIRF will even seek to understand India’s diverse pluralistic and democratic ethos. Their efforts to interfere in the largest electoral exercise of the world will never succeed."

Asked to elaborate on the allegation regarding interference in India’s electoral process, Jaiswal did not dwell on it further but pointed out that the ministry has commented on this organisation earlier as well. Even under Manmohan Singh, the ministry had dismissed USCIRF reports though India was never designated CPC before 2014.

This year’s report said: "In 2023, religious freedom conditions in India continued to deteriorate. The government, led by the BJP, reinforced discriminatory nationalist policies, perpetuated hateful rhetoric, and failed to address communal violence...."