Diplomatic Win For India As No Voting On EU Resolution On CAA Tomorrow: Govt Sources

In a big diplomatic victory for India, government sources said there will be no voting on the European Union (EU) resolution on the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act at European Parliament on Thursday.

“Friends of India prevailed over the friends of Pakistan in the European Parliament on Wednesday,” the sources said.

Strenuous efforts of outgoing British Members of the European Parliament Shaffaq Mohammad to have a resolution passed by the European Parliament against India on the penultimate day before Brexit were defeated, the sources added.

“The CAA is a matter internal to India and has been adopted through a due process through democratic means. We expect that our perspectives in this matter will be understood by all objective and fair-minded MEPs,” they said.

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Taking strong objections to resolutions being moved in the European Parliament against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla conveyed to the head of the European Union's (EU) legislative body on Monday it was inappropriate for one legislature to pass judgements on another and the practice could be misused by vested interests.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu also asserted that there was no scope for outside interference in India's internal matters and the country was capable of addressing its concerns on its own.

The ruling BJP and the Congress also weighed in on the resolutions before the European Parliament, with the former questioning the objectivity of the members of the EU Parliament and the latter accusing the saffron party of internationalising the citizenship issue.

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The assertions came after close to 600 lawmakers in the 751-member EU Parliament moved six resolutions against the CAA, saying the enactment of the law marked a dangerous shift in India's citizenship regime.

Birla wrote to European Parliament President David Maria Sassoli over the resolutions on Monday.

"I understand that Joint Motion for Resolution has been introduced in the European Parliament on the Indian Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. This act provides for easier citizenship to those who have been subjected to religious persecution in our immediate neighbourhood," he said in the letter.

It was not aimed at taking away anyone's citizenship and the legislation was passed after due deliberation by both Houses of the Indian Parliament, Birla said.

"As members of Inter Parliamentary Union, we should respect sovereign processes of fellow legislatures, especially in democracies," he added.

It was inappropriate for one legislature to pass judgements on another, a practice that could surely be misused by vested interests, the Lok Sabha speaker said.

The new law, passed by Parliament last month, offers citizenship to non-Muslim persecuted religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

India has been witnessing massive protests against the new law with opposition parties, civil rights groups and activists saying granting citizenship based on religion is against the foundational principles of the Constitution.

There has been no reaction from the Ministry of External Affairs on the resolutions against the CAA in the European Parliament.

(With PTI inputs)