The Centre has hit back at the US over its State Department report alleging significant human rights violations in India, saying it’s deeply biased and that govt attaches no value to it.
The govt also took a swipe at the US, which has been raising concerns over what India sees as its internal affairs, on the issue of pro-Palestine protests in major US universities, saying that “in every democracy, there has to be the right balance between freedom of expression, sense of responsibility, and public safety and order”.
Calling upon democracies to show this understanding with regard to other fellow democracies, govt said, “countries are all judged by what they do at home and not what they say abroad”.
The US’ annual human rights assessment released earlier this week alleged extrajudicial killings, rights abuses in Manipur last year and attacks on minorities, journalists and dissenting voices in the rest of the country.
Spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs Randhir Jaiswal said, “This report (State Department) is deeply biased and reflects a poor understanding of India. We attach no value to it and urge you to do the same.”
The report, released by secretary of state Antony Blinken, also alleged that Indian govt took minimal credible steps or action to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses. Asked about protests at Columbia University and other universities in the US, the official said the govt has been getting reports on the matter and following related events.
Interestingly, responding earlier in the day to media queries about the protests, a US embassy spokesperson said, “Students’ safety is of paramount importance to the United States and to US schools and universiti es. Law enforcement and campus security play an important role in protecting students and maintaining space for peaceful political speech.” On the issue of human rights, the State Department document had noted r eports that “govt or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings”.
The report also talks about al- leged transnational repression by Indian authorities and mentions Canada’s allegations about the involvement of Indian agents in the murder of pro-Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Asked about the probe into US allegations about the role of an Indian official in the foiled murder attempt on another pro-Khalistan separatist, the Indian official recalled that the govt had formed a high-level committee to look into the information shared by Washington because it concerns India’s security too and said the committee is still looking into it.
