Congress MP Shashi Tharoor calls US deportation of Indians in military plane "quite unnecessary"

New Delhi [India], February 6 : As a US military aircraft carrying more than 100 Indian citizens who allegedly illegally migrated to the US arrived in Amritsar on Wednesday, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the US has the right to deport a person if they are staying there illegally.
However, he stated that the manner in which the US was deporting Indian citizens was "unnecessary" as they were not criminals and had no bad intentions.
Speaking to ANI, Tharoor said that the US should have deported Indians on a commercial aircraft or a civilian plane. He stressed that deportation should have been conducted in a more "humane manner." He also highlighted that over 1100 Indians were deported under the Biden administration in 2024.
On the US deportation of Indian citizens who allegedly illegally migrated to the US, Shashi Tharoor said, "It's not the first time we've had people deported. It's just that the media has suddenly woken up to the story because Mr Trump has done it perhaps a bit quicker than people expected, but already last year under the Biden administration where over 1100 Indians were being deported back. If you're illegally in the US, the US has a right to deport you, and if your identity as an Indian is confirmed India has an obligation to accept you. So, in both cases, there really isn't very much debate. However, it wasn't good to hear that they were brought back forcibly in the military plane and handcuffed and so on, that was quite unnecessary."
"It should have been enough to either put them on a commercial aircraft or a civilian plane and send them back. You can, if you want to do a mass deportation, do civilian charters, that would have been the more humane thing to do. They may, strictly speaking, have broken your laws by coming into your country, but by and large, they have no bad intentions. They're not criminals. They're not convicted of anything else. They're there to make a better life for themselves which they have done by violating your laws. So, you can send them out, no problem, but handcuffing them and putting them in a military aircraft and sending them in this way, I think India should say that this is not entirely advisable," he added.
A US Air Force plane carrying Indian citizens who allegedly illegally migrated to the US arrived in Punjab's Amritsar on Wednesday. Earlier on Tuesday, a US Embassy spokesperson said that while specific details cannot be shared, the United States is vigorously enforcing its border and immigration laws. The spokesperson emphasised that the actions taken send a "clear message that illegal migration is not worth the risk."
Congress MP said that he had asked for an immigration bill when he was the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs from 2014-2019 and stressed that the bill was required as the existing immigration bill in India is 1983 and called it out of date. He said that deportation of illegal migrants is just one of the immigration bill.
Asked whether the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has given any response to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs on the law for safe immigration, Shashi Tharoor said, "First of all, you know, what goes on in the committee is not supposed to be discussed publicly, but I should say, That the question of an immigration bill has been public knowledge for several years. When I chaired the committee from 2014 to 2019, I had asked for an immigration bill because the existing immigration bill in India is 1983 and it's grossly out of date. It has not done anything to take into account the realities of immigration in the last 40 years and therefore an updated bill was necessary. It needs to take into account the various challenges that we have that have arisen in recent years that we have seen."
"Deportation of illegal migrants is only one part of it, but safe and orderly and legal migration, migration of guest workers with the right to come back, migration of people for permanent settlement, migration of those going, for example, to countries like the Gulf where they're taken in bulk by contract labourers, what are their rights? What are the privileges, what are the duties of the embassies and all these places? There are a number of issues. It's not a small matter. And the government has been promising us a bill since 2016, 2015 or 2016 when Sushma Swaraj ji had written to me confirming that they were working on a bill. It is now almost 9 years and there is still no bill in sight, so it is widely known that the committee and members of the committee have been demanding that this be expedited. They have promised that within a fairly short period of time, there will be a bill that will be presented for public consultations after interministerial consultation, and I have urged that we should all be taken into confidence on how this is being discussed. But, it's not, specifically linked to the current problem of deportation alone, it's an old issue," he added.
Shashi Tharoor said that he has read interviews with a couple of people who claimed they were handcuffed. He stressed that US should not treat Indians like that and called it "totally unacceptable.
On being asked about reports that Indian migrants were sent back handcuffed, he said, "Well, people say they've seen pictures. I personally have not. I had a busy day yesterday. I didn't see any of the footage, but if it is true, and I've certainly read interviews with a couple of people who claimed they were handcuffed, then it is really unacceptable. There is no need to treat Indians like this. They are citizens. They have a right to be in their own country with dignity, yes, they should not have broken the law, but handcuffing them on the way back, I think it's totally unnecessary, and, and this kind of thing, to be honest, is what gives, I think the whole process of deportation such a bad name. Some Latin American countries have made it very clear they will not accept military aircraft and they will not accept handcuffing and India should I think take a similar stand."
When asked about his response on mob vandalising the residence of Bangladesh's founding leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in Dhaka, Shashi Tharoor said, "It's tragic that these things are happening, obviously. Bangladesh can turn around and say this is our internal affair, it's none of your business, and I accept that. But, having said that, it's also true that there are some decencies we would like to see our neighbours honour, and this was a gentleman with an enormous contribution to Bangladeshi history which cannot be wished away whether you disagree with him or his party or his daughter politically. It is truly I think shameful that such a thing would have happened and if it is true because I've not seen any pictures again, but if you, you've got confirmation this has happened, I think it would have beenpity, but I also feel that India as a foreign country can only express its own regrets that such a thing happening. It has no business to complain to the Bangladeshis because it genuinely is not our business."
The protesters, reportedly demanding a ban on the Awami League, stormed the premises after breaking open the gate, causing widespread destruction, Dhaka Tribune reported, citing UNB. Local media linked the protest to an online speech by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.