A federal panel on religion has urged the United States to weigh sanctions against India's Home Minister Amit Shah if the south Asian nation adopts legislation to exclude Muslims from a path to citizenship for religious minorities from its neighbours.

Shah is a close associate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Hindu nationalist-led government is seen by critics as pushing an agenda that undermines the secular foundations of India's democracy. "If the CAB passes in both houses of parliament, the United States government should consider sanctions against the Home Minister and other principal leadership," the panel said in a statement, referring to the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB). The panel is a bipartisan body that makes foreign policy recommendations to the US leadership. India's foreign ministry called the panel's statement inaccurate, saying the bill sought to help persecuted religious minorities already in the country. "It seeks to address their current difficulties and meet their basic human rights," said ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar. During Monday's parliament debate, opposition politician Asaduddin Owaisi ripped up a copy of the bill, calling it a move by the Modi government to render Muslims "stateless". But Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which promised the measure in an election campaign that swept it to power in May, says the law is needed to help persecuted minority individuals in its neighbours. "If minorities in our neighbouring countries are being persecuted, then India cannot stay a silent spectator," Shah told parliament. The bill is the third key election promise Modi's government has delivered since August. The scrapping of autonomy for the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir and permission from India's top court for moves to build a Hindu temple at a disputed religious site have bolstered right-wing supporters, and diverted attention from a slowing economy. Now the BJP must win support from smaller regional groups to push the bill through the upper house of parliament this week.