The European Parliament has decided not to conduct a vote today on a resolution against India’s new citizenship law. Government sources called the deferment of the voting on the Citizenship Amendment Act a diplomatic victory.
They said that friends of India prevailed over the friends of Pakistan in the European Parliament. India reached out to almost all countries of the powerful bloc, trying to persuade them against going ahead with the resolution against the CAA.
Sources said the European lawmakers agreed to delay the voting to get a direct perspective about the CAA from External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar who is scheduled to visit Brussels to prepare the ground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in mid-March.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had written to European Parliament President David Maria Sassoli over the resolutions moved against the CAA. In his letter, Mr Birla said it is inappropriate for one legislature to pass judgement on another and the practice can be misused by vested interests.
Lok Sabha Speaker also asserted that as Members of the Inter- Parliamentary Union, sovereign processes of fellow legislatures should be respected. Mr Birla said, the act provides for easier citizenship to those who have been subjected to religious persecution in our immediate neighbourhood and it is not aimed at taking away citizenship from anybody. He added that the legislation was passed after due deliberation by both houses of the Indian Parliament.
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