NEW DELHI, 16 March, 2021 (TON): "No Parliament should discuss the laws passed by other Parliaments and issues of other sovereign countries,” Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla told the President of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Duarte Pacheco on Monday.

Birla made the observation over the "unwarranted and tendentious" debate in the UK Parliament that saw lawmakers criticizing the Indian government's handling of the farmers' protest.

On March 9, India had summoned British envoy Alex Ellis to lodge a protest against the issue.

While referring to the strong historical ties of India with the IPU, Birla said that India has organized the IPU conference in 1969 and 1993, while former presiding officers G.S. Dhillon and Najma Heptulla had been IPU presidents in the past.

The official mentioned that the IPU and India both have mutual concerns about strengthening democracy.

He said, "Our collective vision is the democratization of governance at the international level."

However, while acknowledging the positive role played by the IPU in the field of international cooperation, Birla appreciated IPu’s role in voicing concerns of the Parliaments at the global level and also the Portugal government for its support to the re-organization of the UN Security Council and India's permanent membership in the council.