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Amid a massive political row over the deportation of over 100 Indian nationals from the United States, the Opposition is asking why the Centre did not intervene to bring them back on its terms. The deportees, many of whom had entered the US illegally, were reportedly shackled and handcuffed aboard a US military aircraft before landing in Amritsar yesterday.
The Centre has defended its position, citing international obligations, but Opposition leaders have accused it of inaction and failing to protect Indian citizens from alleged mistreatment.
Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale and Aam Aadmi Party's Sanjay Singh, speaking shortly after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's speech in Parliament today, pointed out that the Indian government had previously arranged special flights to evacuate its citizens from crisis zones.
"We are the fifth largest economy in the world and soon we will become 'Vishwa Guru'. As 'Vishwa Guru', our citizens are being shackled in chains when countries like Colombia, which doesn't even figure in the top 10, can send an aircraft and bring their citizens back with dignity. What stops our government from sending an aircraft? We don't have a shortage of it," said Mr Gokhale in Parliament.
During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, India mounted large-scale evacuations from several countries. In 2020, Air India operated special flights to bring back Indians from Wuhan, China - the epicentre of the outbreak. Similarly, India had conducted mass evacuations from Ukraine when the Russia-Ukraine war broke out.
Given this precedent, Opposition leaders have questioned why the Indian government did not take similar steps to bring back deported Indian nationals from the US, instead of allowing them to be transported under American authorities' strict security protocols.
"How did the US military plane land on Indian soil? Why were our citizens brought in handcuffs?" Mr Singh asked in Parliament.
"What baffles me is that the External Affairs Minister seems focussed on defending the US deportation policies rather than the interest of our citizens," said Mr Gokhale.
Mr Jaishankar, speaking in the Rajya Sabha, defended the government's stance, arguing that every country has an obligation to take back its nationals if they are found to be living illegally abroad. He also said that the deportations were carried out by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under standard procedures in place since 2012.
"The deportation by the US is organised and executed by ICE authorities. Their standard operating procedure provides for the use of restraints, but we have been informed that women and children are not restrained," Mr Jaishankar said.
He added that the government was engaging with US authorities to ensure that deportees were not mistreated.
"It is in our collective interest to encourage legal mobility and discourage illegal movement," he said.
The US Embassy in India has stated that while it cannot share specific details, it is "vigorously enforcing" border and immigration laws and that these actions send a "clear message: illegal migration is not worth the risk."
Amid the backlash, the Centre is considering enacting a new law, tentatively titled the Overseas Mobility (Facilitation and Welfare) Bill, 2024. The legislation aims to promote "safe, orderly, and regular migration for overseas employment" and could serve as a framework for future deportation and immigration policies.