NEW DELHI: Taking exception to reported comments by Pope Benedict XVI with regard to religious intolerance in India, the government on Friday emphasized that it was "acknowledged universally" that India is secular and all religious faiths enjoy equal rights.
 
"It is acknowledged universally that India is a secular and democratic country in which adherents of all religious faiths enjoy equal rights," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said, reacting to comments attributed to the Pope.
 
Sarna pointed out that the Indian Constitution states that all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion.
 
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