MEA says opinions expressed by EP members don't represent official position of EU on CAA

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said the opinions expressed by the European Parliament (EP) members in the draft resolution do not represent the official position of the European Union (EU) on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

"We have noted the decision of the EU Parliament not to put the CAA resolution to vote today. We have also noted the European Commission's clarification that the opinions expressed by the European Parliament and its members do not represent the official position of the EU," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in his weekly briefing.

"However, we will continue to engage with the MEPs, the EP and other EU stakeholders in this matter," the spokesperson added.

Reiterating India's stance over the controversial legislation that has triggered countrywide protests since its enactment last month, Kumar said that "CAA is an internal matter" of the country.

In a major diplomatic victory for India, there will be no voting in the European Parliament on the resolution on the CAA on Thursday, government sources told ANI.

The voting in the Parliament was scheduled for Thursday on a five-page resolution. The resolution alleged that the CAA is not only "discriminatory" and "dangerously divisive" but also a "violation of India's international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights".

A Pakistan-origin Member of European Parliament (MEP) Shaffaq Mohammed is reportedly behind the draft resolution against the CAA. The sources said that Mohammed's efforts to get the resolution passed were "defeated."

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

The amended Citizenship Act grants citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.