India slams EU move to question Indian Parliament’s rights

India on Sunday criticised the European Union Parliament’s move to introduce resolutions against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed by Indian Parliament, saying such moves, without an accurate assessment of facts, will only harm relations between EU and India.

“We are informed that some members of the EU Parliament intend to move a draft resolution on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The CAA is a matter that is entirely internal to India. This legislation has been adopted by due process and through democratic means after a public debate in both Houses of Parliament,” the government is reported to have stated.

The government expressed hope that as fellow democracies, the EU Parliament would not take any action that calls into question the rights of democratically elected legislatures.

The legislation that accords citizenship rights to persecuted people belonging to minority religions in Islamic nations like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan post-partition, is purely an internal matter of India, the government said, adding that even European societies in the past had followed this approach.

India, with its 1.3 billion population, cannot give refuge to all persecuted people from around the world and an open invitation will flood India with more “refugees” than the whole of Europe presently caters to.

Instead of passing resolutions, the government said, it would be better for the EU to engage India to get a full and accurate assessment of the facts before taking any further moves. 

CAA, the government emphasised, is not discriminatory against any religion and is a one-time measure to empower refugees who have been living in this country for years without any rights.

The resolution, to be tabled by European United Left/Nordic Green Left Group, believed to be supporters of jihadi groups, is set to be debated on Wednesday and voted upon the day after. 

The resolution make a reference to the United Nations Charter, Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the India-EU Strategic Partnership Joint Action Plan signed in November 2005, and to the EU-India Thematic Dialogue on Human Rights. Out of 751 members of the EU Parliament, 626 have moved six resolutions on the twin issues of CAA and reorganisation of J&K, as per an IANS report.

“The CAA marks a dangerous shift in the way citizenship will be determined in India,” the resolution said. “Instead of addressing concerns, offering corrective action, calling for security forces to act with restraint and ensuring accountability, many government leaders have been engaging in efforts to discredit, rebuke and threaten the protesters,” it said.