MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi (Photo | MEA India)
NEW DELHI: Amid reports that the UN has received a "donation" from the pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice, India on Friday said it has conveyed its concerns and sensitised the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the activities of the group.
Separately, in response to a US state department report flagging human rights issues in India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that "we expect that there should be a proper understanding of developments in India".
Asked about media reports that the United Nations has received a "donation" from Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi confirmed that India's permanent mission in Geneva has sensitised the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the activities of the SFJ.
"Sikhs for Justice or SFJ has been declared by the government of India as an unlawful association under our relevant domestic laws. SFJ is involved in anti-national and subversive activities with the intention to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India," he said at an online briefing.
It is encouraging and aiding secessionist activities and supports separatist groups fighting for this purpose in India and elsewhere, Bagchi asserted and added that India's concerns have been suitably conveyed to the UN.
In response to another question on the US State Department's 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices' which has raised issues of human rights violations in India, he said, "We are aware of this report that has come out. This is clearly an internal exercise of the US government, we are not party to it."
"Nevertheless, as a general approach, we expect that there should be a proper understanding of developments in India," Bagchi said.
