Om Birla writes to EU Parliament President on resolutions against CAA
As the European Union Parliament is all set to discuss resolutions on Citizenship Amendment Act, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has penned down a letter to the EU President David Maria Sassoli saying that it is inappropriate for one legislature to pass judgment on another, a practice that can surely be misused by vested interests.
"It is inappropriate for one legislature to pass judgment on another, a practice that can surely be misused by vested interests. I would urge you to consider the proposed resolution in this light, confident that none of us wants to set an unhealthy precedent," read the letter.
According to sources quoted by news agency ANI, the Speaker said that "as members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, we should respect the sovereign processes of fellow legislatures, especially in democracies."
Birla also asserted that the act is aimed at "granting easier citizenship to those who have been subjected to religious persecution in our immediate neighbourhood," adding that "it does not take away the citizenship of anyone."
More than 600 of 751 members of the EU Parliament are part of the six groups that have tabled the resolutions. The resolutions are set to be debated in the European Parliament in Brussels on January 29 and voted the day after.
According to the text of one of the resolutions, the MEPs urge Indian authorities to "engage constructively" with those protesting against the law and consider their demands to repeal the "discriminatory CAA".
"The CAA marks a dangerous shift in the way citizenship will be determined in India and is set to create the largest statelessness crisis in the world and cause immense human suffering," GUE/NGL resolution says.
However, on Monday, the EU Foreign Office said that it doesn't represent the official position and called New Delhi a key partner.
EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Virginie Battu-Henriksson, told WION, "Opinions expressed by the European Parliament and its Members do not represent the official position of the European Union."
India has maintained that CAA is an internal matter of India and there shouldn't be such actions that call into question the rights and authority of democratically elected legislatures in other regions of the world.
"CAA is a matter that is entirely internal to India. This legislation has been adopted by due process and through democratic means after a public debate in Parliament," government sources were quoted as saying by ANI.
The new law promises citizenship to members of 6 non-Muslim communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India before December 31, 2014.
(Inputs from dnaindia.com)
