Latvian Parliament Revokes Law Granting Citizenship to India's Vishwanathan

Latvia's parliament, the Saeima, on Thursday adopted under urgent procedure a law that nullifies, with effect from its adoption, the law passed only a week earlier, on 15 October, recognising Indian national Divya Kanan Vishwanathan as a Latvian citizen. She had been granted citizenship for special merits to Latvia. The reversal raises questions about how citizenship decisions are made and what happens when doubts arise over the data submitted.

Why the law was repealed

The amendment was submitted by deputies of the party New Unity (JV). In their explanatory note they said doubts had emerged about the completeness of the information on which the Saeima based its decision. In the Legal Committee, chaired by JV's Andrejs Judins, technical flaws were found in the JV draft, so deputies voted for an alternative draft prepared by the committee. The National Alliance had submitted a similar initiative.

Division within the coalition

The issue caused disagreement in the governing coalition. The National Alliance's bill went to the Citizenship, Migration and Social Cohesion Committee, chaired by Gunārs Kūtris of the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS). That party sees no grounds to change the decision. ZZS parliamentary group leader Harijs Rokpelnis told the news agency LETA that the matter had been examined at three committee meetings, with opinions from 11 state institutions assessed, and no new facts about the candidate's ineligibility had been received.

During debate Kūtris called the repeal a "lynch trial" based on rumours. Deputy Edmunds Jurēvics (JV) said mistakes must be acknowledged and corrected, and personally apologised.

What is known about Vishwanathan

The explanatory note described her as a holder of a doctorate in computer science whose work relates to information technology, data science, artificial intelligence and pharmaceutical research. She has been linked to the Latvian Academy of Sciences (LZA) since 2019 and since 2024 has worked at the company SIA "Dr. Vishys" as head of its AI laboratory. According to "firmas.lv", the company is owned by Kanan Vishwanathan, has had no turnover in recent years and has recorded losses of more than 200,000 euros.

After citizenship was granted, doubts were raised publicly about her education and publications. President Edgars Rinkēvičs urged parliament to dispel the doubts and, if necessary, review the law. Vishwanathan had earlier rejected the criticism, saying the documents submitted were genuine and verified.