38.6c New Delhi, India, Friday, March 29, 2024
International

Resolution Passed By Seattle City Council Against CAA and NRC

By LawStreet News Network      05 February, 2020 12:02 PM      0 Comments
Resolution Passed By Seattle City Council Against CAA and NRC

The Seattle City Council on the 3rd of February, 2020 became the first legislative body in the United States (US) to pass a resolution against the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA or the Act) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in India. The resolution urges the Indian Parliament to repeal the laws and stop the registery from coming into action. The resolution was sponsored by an Indian-American council member, Kshama Sawant.

The "far right" politics of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been recognised as discriminatory, the resolution further says, “Most Indians lack documentation such as birth certificates to prove citizenship, and a nationwide expansion of the NRC could strip hundreds of millions of people (disproportionately Muslim, oppressed castes, women, indigenous and LGBT communities) left out of the CAA of their citizenship rights with no option to be re-naturalised.

It goes on to state that the Indian parliament must take immediate action against discrimination:

"The resolution has reaffirmed Seattle as a welcoming city and expressed solidarity with Seattle's South Asian community regardless of religion and caste. The Parliament of India needs to uphold the Indian Constitution by repealing the CAA and NRC and also take steps towards helping refugees by ratifying various UN treaties on refugees.”

Indian-American groups that have been protesting against the Act in different ways celebrated the Seattle City Council’s decision.

Equality Labs, a South Asian human rights group in the US, released a statement thanks the Council and the people of Seattle. “Thousands of organisers across the country have called, e-mailed, and visited Seattle City Council members to amplify this Resolution, and it sets an example to cities across the United States – that we do not stand on the side of genocide. At a time when members of the Indian ruling party cited Trump, the Muslim ban, and his war on immigrants as justification for targeting hundreds of millions of Indian minorities, Americans have a unique responsibility to stand up and speak about this human rights crisis. We are glad that Seattle is leading the way on this,” the statement says.

Javed Sikander, spokesperson for the Seattle chapter of the Indian American Muslim Council, also welcomed the decision. "These acts are unconstitutional and designed to disenfranchise several million Muslim, Dalits and other minorities in order to create a fascist state. The prime minister of India and his party BJP has to be stopped from further damaging India and its secularism,” he said.

According to Seema Sirohi, a senior journalist, “Some analysts see a resurrection of the old anti-Modi “Coalition Against Genocide”, which prevailed in the US Congress to deny him a visa while he was Chief Minister of Gujarat."

Protests against CAA have also been held across cities, including New York, Washington, Minneapolis and others.

 

Author: Dyuti Pandya 



Share this article:

User Avatar
About:


Leave a feedback about this
TRENDING NEWS

arvind-kejriwals-plea-for-interim-release-rejected-by-delhi-high-court
Trending Judiciary
Arvind Kejriwal's plea for interim release rejected by Delhi High Court [Read Order]

Delhi High Court rejects Arvind Kejriwal's plea for interim release in money laundering case related to liquor policy scam, pending ED's response.

28 March, 2024 10:50 AM
youtuber-strings-plea-against-youtube-accounts-suspension-andhra-pradesh-hc-issues-notice-to-centre-google
Trending Top Stories
BREAKING: Youtuber String’s plea against Youtube accounts suspension: Andhra Pradesh HC issues notice to Centre, Google

Andhra Pradesh High Court issues notice to the Centre and Google LLC on Youtube journalist String’s plea against suspension of its accounts by Google (which owns Youtube).

28 March, 2024 11:26 AM

TOP STORIES

delhi-liquor-scam-court-remands-arvind-kejriwal-to-ed-custody-till-march-28-read-remand-application
Trending Judiciary
Delhi liquor scam: Court remands Arvind Kejriwal to ED custody till March 28 [Read Order]

Delhi liquor scam: Arvind Kejriwal remanded to ED custody till March 28. Court grants agency permission for interrogation in liquor policy case.

23 March, 2024 11:53 AM
sc-dismisses-centres-plea-for-review-of-judgment-directing-ed-to-furnish-written-grounds-of-arrest-to-pmla-accused
Trending Judiciary
SC dismisses Centre’s plea for review of judgment directing ED to furnish written grounds of arrest to PMLA accused [Read Order]

Supreme Court dismisses Centre's plea, upholds judgment mandating Enforcement Directorate to provide written grounds of arrest in PMLA cases.

23 March, 2024 03:14 PM
kerala-hc-to-hear-lesbian-couples-plea-against-forced-conversion-therapy-on-april-9
Trending Judiciary
Kerala HC to hear lesbian couple’s plea against forced conversion therapy on April 9

Kerala HC will hear a lesbian couple’s plea highlighting that one of them was subjected to forced conversion therapy.

23 March, 2024 03:30 PM
how-can-people-be-compelled-to-vote-madras-hc-asks
Trending Judiciary
“How can people be compelled to vote? Madras HC asks

“How can people be compelled to vote?”, the Madras HC queried in a plea asking employers in Tamil Nadu to demand proof from employees of having voted on polling day.

23 March, 2024 05:04 PM

ADVERTISEMENT


Join Group

Signup for Our Newsletter

Get Exclusive access to members only content by email