NEW DELHI, 30 November 2007 — Several Indian lawmakers expressed their concern in Parliament yesterday over the treatment of ethnic Indians in Malaysia, news reports said.

The issue came up both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, India’s lower and upper house of Parliament, PTI and IANS news agencies reported.

The legislators expressed concern over the police treatment at a rally by Malaysia’s ethnic Indian minority in Kuala Lumpur, demanding equal rights to jobs and education. The protesting lawmakers were largely from India’s southern Tamil Nadu state and cut across party affiliation. Most of Malaysia’s ethnic Indian people have origins in Tamil Nadu.

They demanded that the Indian government take up the issue with the Malaysian government and ensure protection of Indian ethnic minorities.

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee disapproved of the motions, and ordered some of the members’ remarks expunged from the record. “We are a very responsible democracy,” he said. “We don’t discuss any other country in such a manner.”

But Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan said India’s external affairs minister would be informed of the sentiments of the lawmakers.

A Malaysian minister told an Indian state chief minister yesterday to mind his own business after the official complained about Malaysia’s treatment of its ethnic Indians. Muthuvel Karunanidhi, chief minister of Tamil Nadu, had asked Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday to intervene and protect the rights of Tamils.

Reacting to the report Malaysia’s de-facto Justice Minister Nazri Aziz told Reuters by telephone, “This is Malaysia, not Tamil Nadu. This has got nothing to do with him ... lay off.”

Meanwhile, the left parties continued to debate the Indo-US nuclear deal yesterday insisting the proposed pact was against the national interest and should not be signed.

They also pointed to objections raised by parties within the ruling United Progressive Alliance about the proposed deal. Later speaking to the media, Basudeb Acharia and Rup Chand Pal (Communist Party of India-Marxist) said the BJP, the left, BSP, RJD, Shiv Sena and all others were against the deal.

While the left refused to budge on the issue, the Samajwadi Party (SP) appeared to have softened its stand. SP leader Ramgopal Yadav urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Lok Sabha to allay apprehensions concerning the deal.

Pointing out that the credibility of the prime minister, his patriotism, intellectual capabilities or dedication should not be questioned, Yadav said that backtracking on an agreement after having initiated it puts one in a dilemma. “If the government backs out of the deal, other countries would say India is not trustworthy,” Yadav said.