Amritsar (Punjab) [India], February 15 : A day after alleging a bid to "defame" Punjab by landing the alleged illegal immigrants from the US in Amritsar, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday, assured that the deportees will be treated properly and all arrangements have been put in place.
The Chief Minister said the deportees will 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 today.
The Punjab CM arrived at Amritsar airport yesterday night and will be staying to receive the deported Indian nationals, who are expected to arrive around 10 PM.
Earlier on Friday, CM Mann came down heavily at the Centre over the treatment of deported Indian nationals, who had allegedly illegally migrated to the US.
Alleging a conspiracy to 'defame' Punjabis, Mann said, "There is a conspiracy to defame Punjab and Punjabis. The first plane landed in Amritsar. Now, a second plane will land in Amritsar. The MEA should tell the criteria based on which Amritsar was selected to land the aircraft. You select Amritsar to defame Punjab."
A total of 119 deportees are going to land in the city. This is the second such flight of deportees which has been carried out after US President Donald Trump's inauguration.
Maximum deportees, 67, are from Punjab. Subsequently, 33 people are from Haryana, 8 from Gujarat, 3 from Uttar Pradesh, 2 each from Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Goa, and 1 person each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.