News Desk
The European Union Parliament has drafted a resolution in which it expressed concerns over the controversial Indian citizenship act saying: “CAA [Citizenship Amendment Act] amendments are set to create the largest statelessness crisis in the world.”
The EU lawmakers have heaped scorn on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for enacting “fundamentally discriminatory” law in a five-page resolution to be tabled during the plenary session of the EU Parliament starting in Brussels next week.
The draft resolution condemned the violence and “systematic brutality” of the Indian law enforcement agencies against the protesters.
“[The] CAA has sparked massive protests against its implementation, with 27 reported deaths, 175 people being injured and thousands of arrests,” according to the official document.
The lawmakers also mentioned the incident at Jawaharlal Nehru University Campus in New Delhi which was attacked by a masked mob that injured over 20 students and teachers from the varsity.
“[The] CAA sets a dangerous precedent and represents an intensification of the Government’s Hindu nationalist agenda,” the document further read.
Massive protests have rocked India since legislation was passed in December last year that eases the way for religious minorities from three Muslim-majority neighbouring nations to gain Indian citizenship, but not if they are Muslim.
The law is a precursor to a national register of citizens that many among India’s 200 million Muslims fear will leave them stateless. Many poor Indians do not have documents to prove their nationality.
“[The] CAA is explicitly discriminatory in nature as it specifically excludes Muslims from access to the same provisions as other religious groups,” said EU draft while urging New Delhi to immediately engage in peaceful dialogue with various sections of the population and repeal the discriminatory amendments. According to the schedule available on the official website of the EU Parliament, the debate on the resolution will be held on January 29 and the voting will be conducted on the next day.
