Big Diplomatic Win For India As EU Parliament Puts Off Vote On Anti-CAA Motion Till March

The resolutions against India were pushed by Pakistan-origin British member of European Parliament Shaffaq Mohammad, close to the Imran Khan establishment in Islamabad.

New Delhi: In what may be termed as a major diplomatic victory for India, there will be no voting on the resolution on the Citizenship Amendment Act in the European Parliament on Thursday. As per sources, the Indian lobbyists prevailed over Pakistani lobbyists in the European Parliament on Wednesday, turning around the situation in favour of India. A joint motion, combining five different resolutions tabled by Members of the European Parliament against India's Citizenship Amendment Act, was debated at the Plenary session in Brussels, with an expected vote on the motion on Thursday postponed until March. The debate opened with a statement by Helena Dalli, the Vice-President of the European Commission and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who spoke strongly in favour of the "rich, frank and open" relationship the European Union (EU) shares with India. The resolutions against India were pushed by Pakistan-origin British member of European Parliament Shaffaq Mohammad, close to the Imran Khan establishment in Islamabad. "Strenuous efforts of outgoing British MEP, Shaffaq Mohammad to have a Resolution passed by the European Parliament against India on the penultimate day before Brexit were defeated," a source said. Two Indian-origin MEPs, Dinesh Dhamija and Neena Gill, were among a host of members who spoke up in India's favour to point out elements of "disinformation" around the CAA and the NRC within the parliamentary motion. Thierry Mariani, a French MEP, alluded to the "hand of Pakistan" in the motion being tabled, while others condemned it as meddling in another country's internal affairs. Pakistan-origin MEP Shaffaq Mohammed and others such as S&D's John Howarth and VERTS/ALE's Scott Ainslie described the CAA as a "highly discriminatory" legislation and alleged that the EU had crumbled in the face of India's diplomatic lobby and prioritised trade and business interests over human rights concerns by postponing a vote on the motion. "The only lobby that has won today is that of common sense and respect," countered ECR's Polish MEP Ryszard Czarnecki. Earlier, the European Parliament had announced that the vote on the motion would be postponed to the Plenary session in March. "Following a decision by MEPs at the opening of Wednesday Plenary session in Brussels, the vote on the resolution on India's Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 2019 has been postponed to the March session, said a statement from the European Parliament.