There will also be a vote on the issue on January 30, according to the European Parliament. The visit had figured in the meeting between Modi and EU high representative for foreign policy Josep Borrell in New Delhi on January 17. The CAA fast tracks the process for granting citizenship to members of non-Muslim persecuted minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The Socialists and Democrats (S&D) Group, the second largest group with 154 members from 26 EU states in the 751-member parliament, was especially scathing in its resolution, which expressed “deep regret over the adoption…of the CAA, which is discriminatory, dangerously divisive and may potentially create the largest statelessness crisis in the world”. However, it too condemned “any excessive use of force by security forces against demonstrators protesting against the CAA”.

Source: Hindustan Times January 26, 2020 13:13 UTC