*ISLAMABAD – **Indian government faces an embarassing blow from theEuropean Parliament.*
*A group of 154 members of the European Parliament have drafted aresolution against India’s Citizenship Amendment Act, saying it couldtrigger the “largest statelessness crisis in the world”.*
The five-page resolution will be presented during the plenary session ofthe European Parliament in Brussels next week.
It describes the CAA as discriminatory and dangerously divisive but also aviolation of India’s international obligations under the InternationalCovenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The lawmakers are from the S&D Group, a forum of leaders from 26 EuropeanUnion countries. They aim to uphold the values of equality, diversity andfairness.
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.
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The government has claimed the law has been enacted to help “persecutedminorities” in those three countries. However, it blocks the naturalizationof Muslims.
Protests sprung up after the law was passed, leading to thousands ofarrests and at least 27 deaths.
The EU parliamentarians referred to this in their resolution and said theadoption of the CAA “has sparked massive protests against itsimplementation, with 27 reported deaths, 175 injured and thousands arrestedand reports that the Indian government has ordered internet shutdowns,imposed curfews and placed limits on public transportation to preventpeaceful protests”.
