Pictures of Indians getting handcuffed, humiliated while being deported from US saddening: Congress

A military transport aircraft of the US is bringing a group of Indian migrants, in the first such deportation to India as part of the big crackdown on illegal immigrants by President Donald Trump in his second term at the White House.

Pawan Khera.

Credit: PTI Photo

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday expressed sadness over "pictures of Indians getting handcuffed and humiliated" while being deported from the US and recalled that America had to express regret over the treatment meted out to Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade in 2013 after the then UPA government had retaliated sharply.

A US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed at the Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport in Amritsar on Wednesday afternoon, in an action — the first of its kind — announced by President Donald Trump.

Congress Media and Publicity Department Chairman Pawan Khera said, "looking at the pictures of Indians getting handcuffed and humiliated while being deported from the US saddens me as an Indian."

"I remember in December of 2013, an Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade was handcuffed and strip searched in America. Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh registered a strong protest with US Ambassador Nancy Powell," Khera posted on X.

He recalled that the UPA government had "retaliated sharply" and said leaders like Meira Kumar, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Rahul Gandhi refused to meet the US Congressional delegation (George Holding, Pete Olson, David Schweikert, Rob Woodalland and Madeleine Bordallo) that was visiting India at that time.

The then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh termed the US action "deplorable" while India withdrew several perks given to the US embassy, including the import of food and alcohol at concessional rates by embassy staff, he said. He added that the Income Tax department had also started investigating the American Embassy school.

"John Kerry expressed regrets at the treatment given to Devyani Khobragade. The US administration called up foreign secretary Sujatha Singh to convey the regrets of the USA," he added in the post.

Khobragade, a 1999-batch IFS officer, was arrested in New York on visa fraud charges, triggering a row between the two countries with India. New Delhi had then downgraded privileges of certain categories of US diplomats, among other steps to register its protest at how Khobragade was treated.