Indian government faces an embarassing blow from the European Parliament
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*ISLAMABAD - **Indian government faces an embarassing blow from the European Parliament.*
*A group of 154 members of the European Parliament have drafted a resolution against India’s Citizenship Amendment Act, saying it could trigger the “largest statelessness crisis in the world”.*
The five-page resolution will be presented during the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels next week.
It describes the CAA as discriminatory and dangerously divisive but also a violation of India’s international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The lawmakers are from the S&D Group, a forum of leaders from 26 European Union countries. They aim to uphold the values of equality, diversity and fairness.
India adopted the CAA, which has been called anti-Muslim, in December. Under the law, the naturalization of non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan has been fast tracked.
The government has claimed the law has been enacted to help “persecuted minorities” in those three countries. However, it blocks the naturalization of Muslims.
Protests sprung up after the law was passed, leading to thousands of arrests and at least 27 deaths.
The EU parliamentarians referred to this in their resolution and said the adoption of the CAA “has sparked massive protests against its implementation, with 27 reported deaths, 175 injured and thousands arrested and reports that the Indian government has ordered internet shutdowns, imposed curfews and placed limits on public transportation to prevent peaceful protests”.
