Amidst reports that illegal Indian immigrants, who were deported from US on Wednesday, were ill-treated and handcuffed, several opposition MPs on Thursday criticised the government questioning the treatment meted out to them.
A US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar on Wednesday, the first such batch of Indians deported by the Donald Trump government as part of a crackdown against illegal immigrants
The deportees claimed their hands and legs were cuffed throughout the journey and they were unshackled only after landing at the Amritsar airport.
Opposition parliamentarians, including Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, protested the treatment meted out to the Indians by US authorities by staging a demonstration in Parliament complex. Some of the opposition leaders protested while wearing handcuffs.
Carrying placards like “Humans. Not prisoners”, the opposition leaders said they would not tolerate the insult to India and raised slogans against the government like “Indians insulted. India won’t stay silent”.
“We, the INDIA parties, shall not tolerate the humiliation of Indian nationals. Modi Government must come out with a detailed statement on the deportation and why did we not send our own planes to bring back the Indians, with dignity and respect, instead of a military plane landing on our soil,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in a social media post.
Sharing a video of a deportee who was narrating his ordeal, Rahul Gandhi said in a social media post, “Prime Minister, listen to this man’s pain. Indians deserve Dignity and Humanity, NOT Handcuffs”.
Talking to reporters in Parliament complex, Congress Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Prime Minister Modi should answer why such treatment was given to those deported.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav asked why these people were forced to leave India.
Amid attacks by the opposition, Union minister Chirag Paswan said the government will put forth its views at an appropriate time. “It is a policy decision and it should not be politicised by the opposition,” he said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said the treatment given to the deported Indians was “unacceptable”.
Hitting out at the government, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said the way Indians were brought back shows the “weakness” of the government.
Former Union minister and Congresss leader Shashi Tharoor said the US has a legal right to deport people living there illegally. But we are protesting the way they were sent back. He suggested a civilian aircraft could have been used for the purpose. TMC’s Kirti Azad also questioned the way Indians were sent back, describing the incident as “painful”.