EU parliament passed resolutions against India in past too

The European Union Parliament's move to bring and pass resolutions against the Central government over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and reorganization of Jammu & Kashmir is no big deal if past resolutions are any indicator.

Two days ago, 559 members from five groups of the 751-member European Parliament moved resolutions against the CAA, calling it "fundamentally discriminatory in nature" and "dangerous shift" in the citizenship criteria in India. The EU members fear that the CAA will create the "largest statelessness crisis in the world causing immense human suffering".

The resolutions will be put to vote on January 29 and 30.

Though in its response, government officials have been saying that the CAA, which was passed by the Indian Parliament, is an internal matter, the EU has moved such resolutions earlier too.

As per official records, the EU passed resolutions on other internal issues of India including the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and the 2012 gang-rape and murder of Nirbhaya in New Delhi.

In the Delhi gang-rape case, the EU Parliament passed a resolution in 2013 with an expectation that India, "being a democracy and having significant relations with the EU, to ensure respect for democratic principles, fundamental rights and human rights, in particular the rule of law and the rights of women".

In 2013, the EU Parliament also passed a resolution condemning the execution of Afzal Guru "in secret" at Tihar Jail in New Delhi.

Though capital punishment is prevalent under Indian law, the EU Parliament criticized the Manmohan Singh government for the execution acein opposition to the worldwide trend" in favour of abolition of death sentence.

The resolution also expressed its regret that Afzal Guru's wife and other family members were not informed of his execution and burial in time. The EU called on India to "adopt legislation introducing a permanent moratorium on executions, with the objective of abolishing the death penalty in the near future."

Sources said the resolutions over CAA and Kashmir have been pushed by Parliamentarian, Shaffaq Mohammed who is a British citizen of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) origin. Shaffaq is a member of the British Liberal and represents Yorkshire and the Humber constituency in the EU.

He shares a good relationship with the government in PoK and Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has been campaigning against India around the world ever since India launched airstrikes against Pakistan terror camps in Balakot last year.

"The EU Parliament resolutions will have no bearing on India's relationship with the EU," an official in New Delhi said.

( With inputs from IANS )