By Aftab Ahmed and Adnan Abidi
AMRITSAR, India (Reuters) – Indian opposition lawmakers questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and demanded a discussion in parliament on Thursday over what they said was ill-treatment of 104 Indian immigrants deported by the U.S.
A U.S. military plane carrying the immigrants landed on Wednesday in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in Punjab state, part of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. The deportation came a week before Trump is expected to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington.
All immigrants, barring children, were handcuffed during the flight, The Times of India and the Indian Express newspapers reported, quoting unnamed officials in Punjab who said they had spoken to the deportees.
The deportees underwent hours of scrutiny at Amritsar airport before police escorted them out in small groups in police vehicles. Reuters was unable to speak to the immigrants.
Some of them were flown on a regular flight to Ahmedabad in Gujarat state on Thursday, closer to their homes, said a police official, who did not want to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
They were escorted out of the Ahmedabad airport by security personnel, according to a Reuters witness. Most of the others are from Punjab or the neighbouring state of Haryana, police have said.
“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,” opposition Congress party lawmaker Gaurav Gogoi said in a notice to the secretary general of the lower house of parliament.
In a separate notice by another Congress party lawmaker, Manickam Tagore urged Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to make an immediate statement in parliament clarifying the Modi government’s stand and steps taken to address the issue.
The Indian foreign ministry and the U.S. embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Both houses of parliament were adjourned on Thursday as opposition lawmakers shouted slogans demanding a government response.
Migration has been among the key issues discussed by India and the U.S. since Trump assumed office last month, and is also expected to come up during Trump’s talks with Modi.
Although Indian immigrants have been deported by previous U.S. administrations, it was the first time Washington used a military aircraft to do so. It was also the farthest destination for such flights using a military aircraft.
The Trump administration has increasingly turned to the military to help carry out its immigration agenda, using military aircraft to deport migrants and opening military bases to house them.
New Delhi has said it will take back such illegal immigrants after verifying their details.
The U.S. is India’s largest trading partner and the two countries are forging deeper strategic ties as they look to counter China. India is also keen to work with the U.S. to make it easier for its citizens to get skilled workers visas.
(Reporting by Aftab Ahmed and Adnan Abidi, additional reporting by Shivam Patel in New Delhi, Sumit Khanna and Amit Dave in Ahmedabad; Writing by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
