External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will make a statement in Parliament at 2 pm today over the issue of deportation of alleged illegal Indian immigrants from the US. His first address will come in the Upper House, the Rajya Sabha. Over the same issue, the Lok Sabha proceedings have been adjourned till noon following an uproar by the opposition members. After the house assembled, the opposition members, mostly Congress MPs were on their feet trying to raise the issue.
Earlier, Speaker Om Birla tried to pacify the agitating members by saying the government has taken note of their concerns seriously. On Wednesday, a US military aircraft with 104 alleged illegal Indian immigrants landed at the Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport in Amritsar.
“The issue is serious. It is a matter of foreign policy. The government has taken it seriously. The foreign country also has its own rules and regulations. You can raise your issues at 12 noon and allow the Question Hour to run smoothly,” Birla said.
Of those deported, 33 each were from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh.
As Donald Trump assumed the Oval Office in the United States, the country’s law enforcement agencies launched a crackdown against illegal immigrants.
Many people from Punjab, who allegedly entered the US through “donkey routes” or other illegal means by spending lakhs of rupees, are now facing deportation.
