Seattle City Council has set a precedent for the rest of the world to follow – Condemning CAA and NRC

On Monday 3^rd February, Seattle City Council, one of the most powerful city councils in the United States unanimously passed a resolution condemning India’s recently-enacted Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The resolution was introduced by Indian American City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, the resolution urges the Parliament of India to uphold the Indian Constitution by repealing the CAA, and to stop the National Register of Citizens, and take steps towards helping refugees by ratifying various UN treaties on refugees.

The protest against the Citizens Amendment Act, Nation Register of Citizens and newly joined in a row National Population Register started soon after the Narendra Modi led the BJP government introduced the citizens Bill in the parliament. Since then, Anti CAA and NRC protests and marches are happening across India and in several other countries as well.

The unanimously passed resolution can be seen as a sign of great victory. People across the world coming in solidarity with the protestors in India.

Thenmozhi Soundararajan of Equality Labs, which organized the community in support of the resolution, welcomed its passage. “We are proud of the Seattle City Council for standing on the right side of history today. Seattle is leading the moral consensus in the global outcry against the CAA,” she said.

The equality lab in its facebook post writes, “We did it!! The Seattle City Council votes to pass resolution 32196 that condemns the CAA and NRC. It is the first resolution of its kind and it would not have been possible without the intercaste and interfaith coalition that helped to make this happen! Jai Bhim to all our partners API Chaya, Indian American Muslim Council, indians_seattle, Sabah, Cairseattle and many others. Thank you all for this historic win and thank you. Seattle City Council for standing with millions

The president of the Indian American Muslim Council, Ahsan Khan said, “Seattle City’s decision to condemn CAA should be a message to all who wish to undermine pluralism and religious freedom. They cannot peddle in hate and bigotry, and expect to have international acceptability at the same time.”

The National India News network welcomes this historic event.