Trump likely to raise concerns over religious freedom with PM

US President Donald Trump will raise the issue of religious freedom in India during his meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week, a senior administration official said, a sensitive subject for the Indian government.

Modi's government has faced large scale-protests at home and criticism abroad for enacting the citizenship law. The measure came months after the government withdrew the special autonomy given to Kashmir, tightening its hold.

Trump, who is due in India on Monday, will talk about the two countries' shared traditions of democracy and religious freedom, the senior administration official said in a conference call on Friday ahead of the two-trip.

“He will raise these issues, particularly the religious freedom issue, which is extremely important to this administration,” the official said.

Soon after winning a second term in office last year, Modi had spoken about his government's priority of inclusive growth for everyone, including religious minorities, the administration official said. “I think that the President will talk about these issues with PM Modi and note that the world is looking to India to continue to uphold its democratic traditions, respect for religious minorities,” the official said.

Trump has faced criticism at home for imposing a travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries, a move he has argued is necessary to guard against terrorism.