‘Respect Sovereign Processes’: LS Speaker Om Birla To EU Parliament Prez Over CAA Resolution

The speaker's letter to Sassoli comes after close to 600 lawmakers in the 751-member European Parliament moved six resolutions against the CAA, saying the enactment of the law marked a dangerous shift in India's citizenship regime

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New Delhi: After the European Union moved resolutions against the Citizenship Amendment Act in India, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday, wrote to European Parliament President David Maria Sassoli stating that it is inappropriate for one legislature to pass judgment on another and the practice can be misused by vested interests. “We should respect sovereign processes,” he stated in the letter. The speaker's letter to Sassoli comes after close to 600 lawmakers in the 751-member European Parliament moved six resolutions against the CAA, saying the enactment of the law marked a dangerous shift in India's citizenship regime. "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 "As members of Inter-Parliamentary Union, we should respect sovereign processes of fellow legislatures, especially in democracies," he said. It is inappropriate for one legislature to pass judgment on another, a practice that can surely be misused by vested interests, Birla said. "I would urge you to consider the proposed resolution in this light, confident that none of us want to set an unhealthy precedent," he said. Out of 751 members of the EU Parliament, 626 have moved six resolutions on both the issues- the Citizenship Amendment Act and reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir. The diplomatic offensive by the EU against India comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Brussels for the India-EU summit in March. Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said the government took note of the EU move immediately and will withstand the EU pressure by reminding its members that the CAA is "an internal matter" of India. (additional inputs from agencies)