Countries should refrain from commenting on issues of other countries in their parliaments: Om Birla

Birla said that no country should raise the internal affairs of other nations in its parliament unless those matters affect the interest of that country.

In an apparent reference to UK lawmakers discussing the three farm laws in the British Parliament, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla said that no country should raise issues related to the internal affairs of other nations in their own parliaments. Last year, some British lawmakers raised the farmers’ protests against the three farm laws in the UK Parliament last year.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla during the Inaugural Session of the 7th G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit at Senate of the Republic, in Rome on Thursday. (ANI)

Birla said that every nation has its own sovereignty which other nations should respect, a statement released by the Lok Sabha Secretariat quoted Birla as saying. Birla said that no country should raise the internal affairs of other nations in its parliament unless those matters affect the interest of that country.

Birla is leading an Indian parliamentary delegation to the G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit in Rome. He also held a bilateral meeting with his British counterpart Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the House of Commons. Hoyle and Birla agreed that members of their parliaments should exchange views through parliamentary diplomacy and seek measures to strengthen democratic institutions in the interest of the people.

Birla also spoke at the first working session on ‘Response to the Social and Employment Crisis caused by the Pandemic’, where he underlined that to deal with future global disasters it is necessary to treat the world as one family. He also highlighted the need for formulating an integrated and coordinated strategy to deal with global issues. He said that parliaments can work together to achieve this goal.