No parliament should discuss laws passed in other parliaments and issues that are internal to sovereign countries, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Tuesday.
Mr. Birla made these remarks in the Central Hall of Parliament while hosting the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) president Duarte Pacheco. The event was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh, Union ministers, Members of Parliament and members of the diplomatic community.
The Speaker’s remarks are significant as they come just days after lawmakers in Britain discussed the farmers’ protests in India in the British parliament.
Without naming any country, the Lok Sabha Speaker also asserted that India has a clear policy against terrorism and expansionism. Mr. Birla mentioned that India has played a leadership role of a responsible international partner during the COVID pandemic. India has supplied COVID related treatment materials to more than 150 countries and it has deployed rapid response teams in several countries to tackle the pandemic.
Addressing the gathering, Mr Pacheco, a member of the Portuguese Parliament, said the coronavirus pandemic has shown that ‘multilateralism’ is the way forward and lauded India’s effort to provide vaccines across the world.
“This pandemic shows how small we are. Multilateralism is the solution to this and India is an example,” he said.
Mr. Pacheco described India as a special friend of the IPU that had played an important role in parliamentary diplomacy.
“Portugal supports India's claim for permanent member of the Security Council,”the lawmaker said, pitching for a greater role for New Delhi in the global order. He further said that in him, India has a special friend in the IPU, who is ready to work side-by-side with India and its Parliament.
India and Portugal have very close relations saying, “We are not just friends, we are brothers,” the IPU President said. Mr Pacheco added that India being the world’s largest democracy, is respected and seen as an example by other countries. The commitment of India to democratic values is a reality and can be seen every day.
“India is an example for the world, because you don’t only look out for your own welfare but also the entire world.”, he added.
