‘We can change our mind’: USCIRF ‘open for dialogue’ with Mohan Bhagwat days after calling for sanctions on RSS | India News

The head of the US religious freedom panel, Dr Asif Mahmood, said that he was open to having a sit-down with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, just days after calling for sanctions on the organisation.The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a bipartisan federal agency, had called for sanctions against the RSS ahead of Bhagwat's planned visit to the US. Now, its chair, Dr Mahmood, has expressed his openness to dialogue.“I would definitely be open to sit down if there is an opportunity. We never give up an opportunity for dialogue. If there is anything that can be arranged, we would be happy to sit down with him, talk more, bring more awareness, and there might be some assurances, there might be some guarantees they can give us, and we can change our mind,” Mahmood was quoted by news agency ANI as saying. Mahmood said that the goal of the USCIRF wasn't to “go and hurt anybody” but to “do good for the people who are repressed in that country and society”.“We will very well be willing to do that if that happens. But we haven't been able to get this opportunity. Obviously, as I told you, we have tried many, many times to get the visa,” he added.The USCIRF is a bipartisan body of ​the US government that monitors religious freedom worldwide and issues nonbinding policy recommendations. Mohan Bhagwat, who is currently visiting the US, is scheduled to speak at an event in New York City on Saturday.USCIRF's earlier stanceUSCIRF had earlier expressed concern over RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s visit to the United States and called on the federal government to revoke his visa. In a statement earlier this week, the panel called on the US government to consider sanctions against RSS members and Indian officials “complicit in religious freedom violations.”“Religious freedom conditions in India continue to deteriorate as violence and incitement are frequently used to target religious minority communities. We urge the US government to consider targeted sanctions against RSS members and Indian officials complicit in religious freedom violations, including revoking the visa issued to Mohan Bhagwat and making him ineligible for future entry into the United States," USCIRF Chair Dr Asif Mahmood had said.“Under the BJP-led government, Indian authorities have failed to prevent, investigate, or punish egregious mob violence against Muslims and Christians. Such vigilante violence is often predicated on enforcing the Indian government’s strict anti-conversion laws, predominantly targeting Christians and other religious minorities. Authorities have also forcefully expelled Muslim citizens in Assam under the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Space for civil society has additionally diminished under the ruling BJP government, with pending amendments to the Financial Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) threatening the ability of faith-based organisations to continue their operations in the country,” the statement from USCIRF added further.The ministry of external affairs dismissed the panel's assertions, casting USCIRF as biased against India."We are all aware that the organisation—or entity—you are referring to is biased; for years, it has been making disparaging and inflammatory remarks about India. I would say we should steer clear of such organisations, as they operate with their own agendas and lack any credibility or trustworthiness," said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal after he was asked about the panel's demand for a ban on RSS.