Plane carrying third illegal Indian nationals from US lands in Amritsar
Feb 16, 2025
Amritsar (Punjab) [India], February 16 : The aircraft carrying the third batch of Indian nationals who allegedly illegally migrated to the US landed at the Amritsar Airport on Sunday.
The third batch arrived just after a day the second batch landed in Amritsar.
Earlier in the day, Congress MP Sashi Tharoor expressed dissatisfaction with the Americans choosing military aircraft for sending them back.
"I am not happy about the Americans choosing to send a military aircraft," Tharoor told ANI."I have not seen any report on whether these returnees were also handcuffed and shackled. If they were, we should definitely protest," he added.
On Saturday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann assured that the deportees would be treated properly and that all arrangements had been made. The Chief Minister said the deportees would stay in Amritsar for a few hours before being taken to their respective states.
"Our kids are the ones which are coming here anyway, so from here no one can go hungry, we will make arrangements. We have also made staying arrangements for them. They will stay here for a few hours and then go to their respective states as the flights have been booked by the Ministry of External Affairs already," Mann said in a press conference in Amritsar on Saturday.
This is the third such flight of deportees which has landed in Amritsar Airport after US President Donald Trump's inauguration. On February 5, the first batch of to the US arrived in Punjab's Amritsar.
Earlier on Thursday (local time), Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is willing to take back its nationals if they live illegally in the United States and laid emphasis on the need to finish the "ecosystem" of human trafficking. PM Modi also expressed confidence that Trump will fully cooperate with India in finishing this ecosystem.
"Those who stay in other countries illegally do not have any legal right to be there. As far as India and the US are concerned, we have always said that those who are verified and are truly the citizens of India - if they live in the US illegally, India is ready to take them back," PM Modi said, answering a query at the joint press conference with President Trump after their bilateral talks.
