European Parliament is independent, sovereign in organisation of its work: EU mission on CAA resolution

Days ahead of a debate in the European Parliament on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), based on resolutions tabled by its members, the European Union's mission in India on Monday said that the EP is an "independent institution sovereign in its deliberations".

The Delegation of European Union to India on Monday said," The European Parliament is an independent institution, sovereign in the organization of its work and in its deliberations. The text referred to are draft resolutions by political groups in the European Parliament."

Although there has been no official reaction from the external affairs ministry, sources had earlier said that CAA is an internal matter of India adopted through democratic process after a public debate in both houses of Parliament.

The sources also called on those members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who intended to move the resolutions in the European to engage with the Indian government to get "full and accurate assessment of the facts before they proceed further."

The amended Citizenship Act grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.

Meanwhile, the draft resolutions are expected to be debated in the 751-member European Parliament in Brussels on January 29 followed by voting on January 30.