Against the backdrop of the European parliament set to debate and vote on a motion against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday asserted there is no scope for outside interference in India’s internal matters.  He also expressed concern over the trend of foreign bodies interfering in matters that are ‘completely within the purview of the Indian parliament and Government’.

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also questioned the objectivity of European Union Parliament members who have backed resolutions against the CAA, asking if they ever raised their voices over ‘victimisation’ of minority Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan.

“The Government of India has already explained that it (the CAA)is our internal matter. We believe in engagement. Lots of Left Parties there have sought this resolution and our External Affairs Minister will engage with them and explain our position,” Prasad told a press conference at the Delhi BJP office.

Asked about the upcoming EU Parliament’s debate, Prasad asked a counter question, “Have my esteemed friends of EU Parliament sought to raise a voice over victimisation of Hindu girls or a Sikh Granthi’s daughter in Pakistan? It is high time they also need to be objective.” Naidu’s remarks at a book launch event here came a day after reports indicated that a total of six resolutions have been tabled by groups within the European Union (EU), including the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D), Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) (PPE), Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance (Verts/ALE), European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR), Renew Europe Group (Renew) and European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) Group.

Though there was no official statement from the Ministry of External Affairs on the issue, Government sources on Sunday had said the EU Parliament should not take any action questioning the rights and authority of democratically elected legislatures, government sources.  This came ahead of a debate on the clutch of resolutions against the CAA by the powerful bloc of 28 nations.  The resolutions will be debated on Wednesday in the European Parliament in Brussels.  Voting will take place the next day.

Expressing concern over this, Naidu said there is no scope for outside interference in India’s internal matters.  Making these observations, he also lamented the trend of foreign bodies interfering in matters that are “completely within the purview of the Indian Parliament and the Indian Government.” 

He said such efforts were totally uncalled for and unwarranted and expressed hope that they would refrain from making such statements in future. 

Addressing the gathering after releasing the book ‘TRG-An Enigma’ in New Delhi today, Naidu said as a mature republic and democratic polity, India capable of addressing the concerns of its citizens and needs no advice or guidance in such matters from others.

Asserting that our polity and democracy provided enough space for expressing differences and dissent whenever warranted, the Vice President said whenever basic and fundamental rights of citizens came under threat, citizens rose in unison and defended them, as was seen against emergency. “As a result, we have emerged as the most vibrant democracy in the world”, he added.

His remarks come after resolutions moved in the European Parliament stated that the CAA marked a “dangerous shift” in the way citizenship would be determined and would create the “largest statelessness crisis in the world”.