Friends of India prevail over Friends of Pakistan: India’s big diplomatic win at European Parliament

New Delhi, Jan 30: The European Parliament decided to postpone voting on a resolution regarding the newly amended citizenship law. The resolution was introduced by give major groups across political leanings.

When the resolution was taken up in the 751 member House, 271 of the 483 MEPs present voted to delay the vote on the resolution. 13 abstained, while 199 did not want to delay the voting.

It was a major diplomatic win for us, a source in New Delhi told OneIndia. India had launched a drive that was intended to clear the misunderstanding regarding the law. India has maintained that the law is not discriminatory in nature and instead of passing a resolution, the European Parliament should engage with New Delhi for a right understanding of the law.

Friends of India prevailed over the Friends of Pakistan, the official said while also blaming Shaffaq Mohammed, the PoK born MEP for the resolution.

With the vote being delayed, Indian diplomatic channels would have more time to reach out to a majority of the MEPs and provide clarity regarding the law. Our officials channels are already at work, the source confirmed, while also expressing confidence that the issue would be resolved.

The final draft resolution by six of the largest groups in the European Parliament has said that the new Indian citizenship law is discriminatory in nature and dangerously divisive.

The draft also says that the NRC may be used to target marginalised groups. It could cause immense human suffering, the draft also says.

India has maintained that these issues are entirely internal. Moreover these issues have been settled by a majority vote in both Houses of Parliament, India has informed.

Instead of voting on such issues, the parliamentarians should engage with New Delhi. We would be able to provide them with the right assessment on the issues, sources on the Ministry of External Affairs informed OneIndia.