'Misleading': Govt on democracy report downgrading India to 'partly free'

Govt said it treats all citizens equally without discrimination and asserted that discussion, debate and dissent are part of Indian democracy

The government on Friday rejected a Freedom House report downgrading India's status to a "partly free" country as "misleading, incorrect and misplaced", and said it treats all citizens equally without discrimination and asserted that discussion, debate and dissent are part of Indian democracy.

"The Freedom House report, titled 'Democracy Under Siege', in which it has been claimed that India's status as a free country has declined to 'partly free' is misleading, incorrect and misplaced,” the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a statement.

The report by the US-based organisation had claimed that the decline in India's status was "due to a