Modi Govt Deplored Violence Against Minorities, US Report on Global Religious Freedom Biased, Says BJP

New Delhi: The US state department's 2018 International Religious Freedom Report shows clear bias against the Narendra Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the saffron party said on Saturday, asserting that its leaders had strongly deplored violence against minorities and weaker sections of society.

The report, released on June 21, alleged that some senior leaders of the BJP "made inflammatory speeches against minority communities". "Mob attacks by violent extremist Hindu groups against minority communities, especially Muslims, continued throughout the year amid rumours that victims had traded or killed cows for beef," it added.

In a statement, BJP media head and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni said, "The basic presumption in this report that there is some grand design behind anti-minority violence is simply false. On the contrary, in most of such cases, these instances are carried out as a result of local disputes and by (people with) criminal mindsets."

Whenever needed, the Prime Minister and other BJP leaders had strongly deplored violence against minorities and weaker sections of society, he added. Baluni said India had deep-rooted democratic institutions, including fiercely independent and pro-active judiciary, which is quite capable of handling such disputes and punish the guilty.

Unfortunately, this fact is completely ignored in this report, he said, adding that the BJP under the leadership of Modi believed in "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas" (With all, development for all).

"Mega schemes launched and effectively implemented by the Modi government have benefited all the castes, religions and regions equally. The BJP is indeed proud of its record in uplifting living standards of all poor, underprivileged sections of society, irrespective of their faith and gender," he said in the statement.

Indian people had recently reaffirmed their confidence on the development agenda of the BJP-led NDA alliance by giving Modi a massive mandate in the parliamentary election, he said. The report covers government policies violating religious belief and practices of groups, religious denominations and individuals, and US policies to promote religious freedom around the world.