Bharat has strongly criticised a recent report from the US State Department that highlighted alleged human rights violations, particularly in Manipur, labelling it as “deeply biased” and reflective of a “poor understanding of Bharat”.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing that the report was deeply biased, adding “We attach no value to it and urge you to do the same.”
Apart from this, the report mentioned the raids by Indian tax authorities on the office of British Broadcasting Corporation or BBC.
The US report highlighted criticism from local human rights organisations, minority political parties, and affected communities directed towards the Modi Government for what they perceived as delayed action in addressing violence and providing humanitarian aid in Manipur.
Additionally, the report mentioned instances of press and civil society reports alleging the use of disinformation tactics against civil society organisations, as well as religious minorities such as Sikhs and Muslims, along with the political opposition.
Regarding the Income Tax (I-T) raid at the BBC office, while tax authorities described the searches as motivated by irregularities in the British media organisation’s tax payments and ownership structure, the report noted that officials also conducted searches and seized equipment from journalists who were not involved in the organisation’s financial processes.
“The government invoked emergency powers to ban screening of the documentary, forced media companies to remove links to the video, and detained student protesters, who organised viewing parties,” the State Department alleged, referring to a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots, the screening of which was banned in Bharat.
