EAM Jaishankar should clarify if India raised deportation issue with US: TMC MP

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar must clarify if the issue of deportation of Indians, who had migrated illegally to the US, was raised with President Donald Trump during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saket Gokhale said on Monday.

In a post on X, Gokhale said the continuing deportations show that either Prime Minister Modi did not express concern over the "inhuman treatment" given to the deportees when he met the US President or that he was "rebuffed by Trump".

"Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar must clarify. Since Friday, two more US Military flights have landed in India carrying deported Indians. On both flights, Indians were put in handcuffs and leg shackles. Some reports claim that Sikhs were not even allowed to wear their turbans," Gokhale said.

"This happened after PM Modi returned to India from his meeting with US President Trump," the TMC Rajya Sabha MP said.

"It is clear that PM Modi did note raise our concerns over inhuman treatment meted out to deportees on these flights or PM Modi raised concerns but was rebuffed by Trump who didn’t care," he added.

Attacking Prime Minister Modi, Gokhale said, "Is our 56” “Vishwaguru” PM so weak that he cannot stand up for Indians? Or is he not taken seriously at all by “his best friend” Trump?" He added that either way, Jaishankar should clarify, "because the MEA had categorically stated that this serious issue would be taken up with the US. What actually happened then?" So far, three US military aircraft have landed in India deporting the illegal immigrants. On February 5, a US military aircraft carrying the first batch of 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar.

On Saturday evening, a second aircraft brought 116 deportees from the United States and the third aircraft carrying 112 illegal Indian immigrants landed at the Amritsar airport late on Sunday evening.