In April last year, Modi referred to Muslims as “infiltrators” who have “more children”.
US state department reports on human rights and religious freedom have noted minority abuses in recent years. New Delhi called them “deeply biased”.
Modi, who has been prime minister since 2014, has denied discrimination and said his government's policies, such as electrification drives and subsidy schemes, help all communities.
The panel recommended the US government “designate India as a country of particular concern'” for religious freedom violations and “impose targeted sanctions” against Yadav and Raw. The Indian embassy had no immediate comment.
Rights advocates, noting the plight of Indian minorities, pointed to rising hate speech, a citizenship law the UN called “fundamentally discriminatory”, anti-conversion legislation that critics said challenges freedom of belief, the revoking of Muslim majority Kashmir's special status and the demolition of properties owned by Muslims.
The commission is a bipartisan US government advisory body that monitors religious freedom abroad and makes policy recommendations.
On Vietnam, the panel said a new decree issued this month allowed Vietnamese authorities to further demand financial records from religious organisations and suspend religious activities for what the report said were vaguely worded “serious violations”.
As of December, the US panel's Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List included more than 80 prisoners who the Vietnamese government punished for religious activities or religious freedom advocacy. The Vietnamese embassy had no immediate comment.
**Reuters**