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The United States is in regular engagement with India at senior levels on human rights concerns, including freedom of religion, said a State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Thursday (local time).
"US says it 'encourage India to promote respect for human rights', including freedom of religion or belief, and we encourage India to promote respect for human rights," Price told reporters. This comes weeks after several nations - including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iran among others - sent official notes on comments against Prophet Mohammed by a suspended political party official. The US has said it "condemns" the remarks. "We condemn the offensive comments made by two BJP officials and we were glad to see that the party publicly condemns those comments," the spokesman said. Recalling United States secretary of state Anthony Blinken's visit to India last year, the spokesperson said that Indians and Americans believe in the same values including human dignity, human respect, equality of opportunity, and the freedom of religion or belief. "The Secretary said when he was in New Delhi last year, 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. These are fundamental tenets, these are fundamental values within any democracy, and we speak up for them around the world," he said further. Meanwhile, India had said that the controversial remarks concerning Prophet Mohammad do not reflect the views of the Government and added that action has been taken by concerned quarters against those who made the comments. "We have made it pretty clear that the tweets and comments do not reflect views of the government. This has been conveyed to our interlocutors as also the fact that action has been taken by concerned quarters against those who made the comments and tweets," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi at a media briefing had said. (ANI)
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