New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday slammed US government-funded NGO Freedom House over its report downgrading India's status to a "partly free" country, saying India has well established democratic practices and does not need "sermons" from those who cannot get their basics right.

Democracy watchdog Freedom House, in a new report, has demoted India from "free" to "partly free", while flagging sustained erosion of civil liberties in the country.

Asked about the report, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, "The political judgements of Freedom House are as inaccurate and distorted as their maps."

Srivastava was referring to a wrongful depiction of India's map by Freedom House.

"For example on the COVID-19 situation, there is a widespread appreciation in the world of our response, of our high recovery rate and of our low fatality rate," he said.

"India has robust institutions and well established democratic practices. We do not need sermons especially from those who cannot get their basics right," Srivastava asserted.

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