New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday said it is “inappropriate for one legislature to pass judgement on another and the practice can be misused by vested interests”, as European Parliament readied to take up six resolutions on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act which the two largest groups of its members fear can potentially create a “statelessness crisis”.
In a letter to European Parliament President David Maria Sassoli, Birla wrote, “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 neighborhood.”
“As members of the Inter Parliamentary Union, we should respect sovereign processes of fellow legislatures, especially in democracies.… It is inappropriate for one legislature to pass judgement 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
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.
The six resolutions were tabled on January 22 as part of the European Parliament’s debate on the CAA and will be taken up for discussion on January 29. Voting on the matter is on January 30.
The largest group in the European Parliament is the European People’s Party (EPP) which has 182 members. It says the CAA “is selective and excludes Muslims from provisions provided to other religious groups” and expressed concern about the “wide range of negative consequences that it might have for India’s international image and internal stability”.
