Washington: The United States is concerned about the rights of minorities in India and President Donald Trump will raise these issues, especially religious freedom, when he meets with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a senior administration official. 

Asked about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) at a briefing on Friday on Trump's India visit next week, the official said, “He will raise these issues, particularly the religious freedom issue, which is extremely important to this administration.”

The reporter, who posed the question erroneously claimed that the CAA is the Indian “government's attempt to keep Muslim migrants from being able to gain Indian citizenship,” which it does not do but only provides expedited citizenship for non-Muslim refugees fleeing religious persecution in officially Islamic Pakistan and Afghanistan and Muslim majority Bangladesh.

The official said, “We are concerned with some of the issues that you have raised. And I think that the President will talk about these issues in his meetings with Prime Minister Modi and note that the world is looking to India to continue to uphold its democratic traditions, respect for religious minorities.”