UN Human Rights Chief to File Application in Supreme Court to Stop CAA
The chattering classes believe that no parliament or government can pass laws to violate the fundamental rights of the people anywhere in the world.
By Rakesh Raman
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has decided to file an Intervention Application in the Supreme Court of India over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has repeatedly expressed her concerns over the increasing human rights violations being committed by the government headed by PM Narendra Modi.
Now through her office – according to The Indian Express – Ms Bachelet has decided to challenge the discriminatory, anti-Muslim CAA announced by the Modi government. This decision is being hailed as a great step because the UN office is taking a concrete action instead of making mere statements.
In response to her decision, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement today that CAA is an internal matter of India and concerns the sovereign right of the Indian Parliament to make laws. “We strongly believe that no foreign party has any locus standi on issues pertaining to India’s sovereignty,” the statement added.
[ Delhi Violence: Protesters in Europe Demand Resignation of Amit Shah and Arrest of BJP Leaders ]
However, the chattering classes believe that no parliament or government can pass laws to violate the fundamental rights of the people anywhere in the world. It cannot be an “internal matter” of India to impose its cruel laws on its citizens. The global community such as the UN human rights office must intervene and tame the government so the rights of people could be protected.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been protesting in India for the past couple of months against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Population Register (NPR), and National Register of Citizens (NRC) announced by the Modi government.
However, the government is using violence and brutal force against the peaceful protesters to impose its laws on the people. Of late, the state-sponsored violence in Delhi claimed nearly 50 lives and over 200 people got injured, mostly with bullet wounds.
While the Modi government completely failed to maintain law and order in Delhi, world’s top encyclopedia Wikipedia has described the Delhi riots as a state-sponsored pogrom designed to murder people belonging to the Muslim religion.
Wikipedia also claims that Hindu nationalist mobs linked with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vandalized Muslim properties and mosques, while carrying saffron flags and chanting Jai Shri Ram.
Ms Bachelet said that the police (Delhi Police) failed to protect Muslims who were attacked by mobs in Delhi riots. “I am concerned by reports of police inaction in the face of attacks against Muslims by other groups, as well as previous reports of excessive use of force by police against peaceful protesters,” Ms Bachelet said.
She was updating the Human Rights Council on human rights concerns, and progress, across the world in the Council’s 43rd Session in Geneva.
DISCLOSURE: I am an independent journalist and do not belong to any political party. My editorial objectivity and aversion to the flawed political system in India can be assessed from the fact that I have not voted in any Indian election during the past more than 2 decades. I strongly believe that all political parties in India are full of dishonest politicians who are hell-bent to further destroy the country which exists merely as an underdeveloped piece of land on the face of the earth.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications and research reports on different subjects.
