NEW DELHI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the deportation of Indian nationals from the United States, questioning the PM’s claims of a ‘close friendship’ with former US President Donald Trump.
Kharge expressed concern over the alleged inhumane treatment of the deportees, arguing that India could have arranged its own flight to bring them home.
“PM Modi has gone there (US), he will talk about it. PM Modi keeps saying that he can solve anything because the US is our friend and things would be solved… People come and go but a nation is permanent… Instead of thinking in favour of the nation, PM Modi keeps saying that Trump is his friend… If Trump really listens to PM Modi, then why are they deporting our people? Instead of sending them on a regular passenger flight, why were they sent on a goods flight… This means PM Modi’s friend is treating our people like slaves… We could have sent our flight to bring them back,” he said.
The Congress chief further questioned the mode of deportation, alleging that the individuals were transported in an undignified manner.
“Instead of sending them on a regular passenger flight, why were they sent on a goods flight? This means PM Modi’s friend is treating our people like slaves. We could have sent our flight to bring them back,” Kharge added.
Earlier, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram also criticised the NDA government, accusing the ministry of external affairs (MEA) of failing to handle the deportation issue effectively. He argued that the government was aware of the planned deportations but did little to prevent the reported mistreatment.
He questioned whether external affairs minister S Jaishankar had raised concerns regarding the deportation process when he met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Chidambaram also claimed that the government knew the exact number of Indians set to be deported and that they would be restrained with handcuffs and ropes.
He further asked whether the government had offered to send its own aircraft to bring back the deported citizens and if similar measures would be taken for the 483 more Indians identified as illegal immigrants by the US.
The controversy erupted after a US Air Force plane carrying 104 Indian nationals, who had allegedly entered the US illegally, arrived in Amritsar, Punjab, on February 5.
Opposition parties have strongly criticised the government both inside and outside Parliament, alleging that the deported individuals were subjected to inhumane treatment aboard a US military aircraft and were “ill-treated and handcuffed.”
