Saeima reverses decision to grant Latvian citizenship to Indian scientist Divya Vishwanatha

Latvia's parliament, the Saeima, on Thursday, 22 October, repealed its earlier decision to grant Latvian citizenship to Indian scientist Divya Kanana Vishwanatha. The vote was held under an urgency procedure, meaning the law recognising her as a Latvian citizen is no longer in force.

The proposal to repeal the law was backed by 68 members of parliament, while ten deputies from the Union of Greens and Farmers faction voted against.

How the case developed

The Saeima had recognised Vishwanatha as a Latvian citizen on 15 October. Among those who pushed for the citizenship was Ivars Kalviņš, president of the Latvian Academy of Sciences (LAS). However, some scientists expressed dissatisfaction, as doubts emerged about Vishwanatha's education and the authenticity of her scientific publications.

On Wednesday, 21 October, President Edgars Rinkēvičs called on the 14th Saeima to remove any doubts surrounding the adoption of the law "On Recognising Divya Kanana Vishwanatha as a Citizen of Latvia" during its term, reviewing it if necessary.

Reasoning behind the repeal

The authors of the amendment explained that the repeal was needed because the LAS, an indirect public administration body that is a derived public entity, may have misled the members of parliament. On 16 June this year the LAS had written to the Saeima with a letter recommending that citizenship be granted to Vishwanatha.

The explanatory note states that the LAS is obliged to advise the Saeima promptly on science matters, so lawmakers had grounds to rely on the academy's recommendations. In that document, the LAS had argued for attracting high-level scientists.