New Delhi:

U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said religious freedom is an important part of any democratic system. He said that sometimes New Delhi and Washington can “seek common ground while reserving differences” on certain matters and should not be interpreted negatively.

The US State Department had previously said it was “concerned” about India’s notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), adding that it was “closely monitoring” the implementation of the bill.

Speaking to ANI, Mr Garcetti said, “This is something that we monitor and I have said so. I would say in a nutshell, religious freedom is an important part of any democracy. It is very important to protect minorities. But this is not Must be necessary.” Read passively. “

“I think it’s the job of the ambassador to monitor what’s going on. It’s the job of the ambassador. It’s the job of the State Department. The job of the foreign ministry and the job of the Indian ambassador is to monitor and report. Let’s just say that,” he added.

He further acknowledged that the U.S. also has “plenty of flaws” and is open to criticism, while emphasizing the importance of finding common international law and respecting each country’s specific history.

“We have a great friendship. It’s very respectful. Sometimes we can agree to disagree on something and go about our business, and we shouldn’t take it lightly. We shouldn’t take it personally. Of course. , I opened up “America,” I always say humbly. We have many flaws. We are open to criticism. We want to listen,” Mr. Garcetti said.

He added: “But I think the most important thing for all of us is to find common international law that we can all participate in, try to implement it equally and respect the specific history of each country. Understand this, when you monitor things and publish The better off you are when you comment.”

At the beginning of this month, after the US made remarks on the CAA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed strong opposition, calling the remarks “wrong, misleading, and baseless.”

MEA spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly press conference that those with “limited knowledge of India’s diverse heritage” should not comment on India’s “internal affairs.”

On March 11, days before the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections was released, the Union Home Ministry announced the implementation rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The CAA rules, proposed by the Narendra Modi government and passed by Parliament in 2019, are intended to cover travelers arriving in India from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and before December 31, 2014.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Rules 2024 enables persons eligible under CAA-2019 to apply for grant of Indian citizenship and the application has to be submitted in a completely online mode for which the government has provided a portal.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)