The United States encourages India to promote respect for human rights, the Biden Administration said here.

"We've condemned the offensive comments made by two BJP functionaries, and we were glad to see that the party publicly condemned their statements," State department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference on Thursday.

"We regularly engage with the Indian government at senior levels on human rights concerns, including freedom of religion or belief," he said.

"We encourage India to promote respect for human rights. The Secretary (of State) said, when he was in New Delhi last year, that the Indian people and the American people believe in the same values: human dignity, human respect, equality of opportunity, and the freedom of religion or belief," Price said in response to a question.

These are fundamental tenets, he added.

"These are fundamental values within any democracy, and we speak up for them around the world," Price said.

PTI