Indian opposition lawmakers questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Thursday and called for a parliamentary debate over the alleged mistreatment of 104 Indian immigrants deported by the US.
A US military aircraft carrying the deportees arrived on Wednesday in Amritsar, Punjab, home to the Sikh holy city. The deportation aligns with President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and occurred just a week before his scheduled meeting with Modi in Washington.
According to reports in The Times of India and The Indian Express, citing unnamed Punjab officials who spoke with the deportees, all adults were handcuffed throughout the flight. Upon arrival, they underwent hours of scrutiny at Amritsar airport before being escorted out in small groups by police vehicles. Reuters was unable to speak with the deportees.
Some individuals were later transferred by commercial flights to Ahmedabad, Gujarat, closer to their homes, according to a police official who declined to be named. Others, primarily from Punjab and Haryana, remained in the region under police supervision. A Reuters witness reported seeing security personnel escorting deportees out of Ahmedabad airport.
Opposition Congress Party lawmaker Gaurav Gogoi, in a notice to the secretary general of the lower house of parliament, condemned the reported treatment, stating,
“Reports have surfaced of these individuals being shackled and treated in a degrading manner during their deportation process, raising serious concerns about their human dignity and rights.”
Another Congress Party lawmaker, Manickam Tagore, called on Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to clarify the Modi government’s stance and detail the steps taken to address the issue in parliament.
Neither India’s foreign ministry nor the US embassy immediately responded to requests for comment. Meanwhile, both houses of parliament were adjourned on Thursday as opposition lawmakers shouted slogans demanding a government response.
Migration has been a central issue in US-India discussions since Trump took office last month and is expected to be a key topic in his upcoming talks with Modi. While previous US administrations have deported Indian immigrants, this marks the first time a US military aircraft has been used for such an operation, as well as the longest-distance deportation flight conducted by the US military.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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