LONDON: The British government has described the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 as “clearly divisive” and in a House of Lords debate expressed concerns about the rights of minorities in India and called on Delhi to exercise restraint.

At the short debate about the controversial act on Tuesday, Conservative life peer Baroness Sugg, minister of overseas territories, speaking on behalf of the British government, said: “Ongoing protests against the act across India leave no doubt that this legislation is divisive. The UK government has concerns about the impact of the legislation. There is no doubt that this act has been divisive in this country, too, including among our Indian diaspora.”

“The Citizenship (Amendment) Act has clearly been divisive in India. Its full impact remains unclear. We hope and trust the government of India will address the concerns and protect the rights of people of all religions,” she said.

Commenting on the riots and protests in India, Sugg, a junior minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), said democratic governments must ”act with restraint and proportionality” even if a protest “crosses the line into illegality”.

“Any allegations of human rights abuses are deeply concerning and must be investigated. Any individual killed in a protest is one too many. We urge restraint on all parties involved and trust that the Indian government will address the concerns of all religions,” she said, adding the UK had repeatedly raised concerns about the impact of the

and the public response to it with the Indian government at the federal and state levels.

Crossbench peer the Earl of Sandwich, who had called the debate, said the new legislation in India “has discriminated against Muslims” and there “may be a need” for India to be on the “FCO human rights list”.

He called on the British government to “urge Mr Modi to carry out a review of the CAA and its effect on Indian society”. Labour’s Lord Tunnicliffe asked whether the UK government had made any assessment of whether the act was compliant with international law and Baroness Northover asked if

has raised the issue “within the Commonwealth”.

Lord Alton of Liverpool said India’s founding fathers — Gandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose and Vallabhbhai Patel — who steered their new nation in the direction of democracy “to ensure that it was not destroyed by sectarianism, casteism and authoritarianism”, would “surely be aghast” to see people all over India protesting against “a draconian, communal, unconstitutional law”.

“This law not only discriminates against Muslims but diminishes a Muslim person’s value in society, inevitably exposing the community to further prejudice. Anyone who questions the policies of the government risks being labelled an anti-national,” he said.

Lord Singh of Wimbledon likened the ideological base of BJP to Hitler and the CAA to the Nuremberg laws. "The CAA, instead of segregating people by genetics, makes religion the basis for citizenship,” he said.

He added the CAA and the National Register of Citizens “provide a legal route for discrimination against Muslims and, ultimately, against all non-Hindus.”

Crossbench peer Punjab-born Lord Loomba was the lone voice defending India at the debate. He said: “India demonstrates by its actions that it does not discriminate against Muslims. Muslims have occupied the highest positions in the country, not least the esteemed head of India, President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.”

Some British MPs also took to Twitter to criticise the riots, claiming they were incited by the government.

Indian-origin Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi tweeted: “Incited violence in Delhi on basis of faith brings back painful memories of 1984 Sikh genocide. We must learn from history; not fooled by those whose aim is to divide society.”

Zarah Sultana, the Coventry South Labour MP who is of PoK origin, tweeted: “Indian Muslims are being killed in the streets of Delhi in scenes resembling the violence witnessed in

(2002), Mumbai (1992) & Delhi (1984)…”

After hosting a discussion in Parliament on Monday with the Indian Muslim Association (UK) about the CAA, Labour MP for East Ham Stephen Timms said the democratic, secular values on which India’s success has been built “were under threat”. He wrote to foreign secretary Dominic Raab asking what response the British government is making; and to the Indian high commissioner requesting a meeting.

The SOAS India Society, with other groups, is holding an “emergency protest” outside the Indian high commission in London on Saturday called “Stop the Delhi pogrom against Muslims”.