A United States panel on religious freedom on Wednesday urged the Donald Trump administration to revoke the visa issued to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat and “make him ineligible” to enter the country in the future.Bhagwat arrived in the US on Tuesday to participate in the RSS’ centenary-year global outreach programme. He is scheduled to address around 5,000 Hindu Americans and Hindu non-resident Indians at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.The RSS is the ideological parent of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.The US Commission on International Religious Freedom said that it was “deeply concerned” about Bhagwat’s visit and alleged that groups associated with the RSS “have perpetrated violent attacks against religious minorities, including Christians, Dalits, Muslims, and Sikhs” in recent years.“Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has enforced policies that closely align with the RSS’ Hindutva ideology, inherently discriminating against religious minority communities,” it added.The commission again urged the US government to impose sanctions on the RSS.It had made the demand on August 19 as well, saying that members of the RSS should not be given high-level meetings or diplomatic courtesies in the US.Dismissing the remarks, India’s Ministry of External Affairs had said on August 21 that the commission was “biased” and lacked credibility.Randhir Jaiswal, the ministry’s spokesperson, said that the US panel had been making “misleading and provocative statements” about India for years.“We should stay away from such organisations because they have their own agenda and at the same time have no credibility,” he added.The commission is an independent American government agency that monitors the universal right to freedom of religion and makes policy suggestions to the White House. These suggestions are not binding.On Wednesday, Cece Heil, the commission’s vice-chair, said that the US government has an opportunity to hold India accountable “and signal that the United States stands for religious freedom for the people of India”.“Without this accountability, religious freedom will only deteriorate further, as vigilante mobs continue to attack religious minorities and their houses of worship under the guise of enforcing anti-conversion laws and other harmful policies,” Heil added.In March, the commission recommended in its annual report that the US government designate India as a “country of particular concern” over alleged systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.This was the seventh time that the US Commission on International Religious Freedom had made this recommendation.Objections have also been raised in Canada about Bhagwat’s upcoming visit from August 31 to September 1.On August 7, two Canadian MPs urged Ottawa to ban the RSS and prevent Bhagwat from entering the country, citing his “history of hate speech” and advocacy of violence against religious minorities.They said his visit could “lead to social disorder”.Written by Sneha. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.