New Delhi [India], February 6 : Former Union Minister for Law and Justice, Ashwani Kumar, on Thursday condemned the US administration over the deportation of 104 Indian migrants to Punjab's Amritsar from the United States.
Ashwani Kumar said that the "heart-rending ordeal" of these deportees aboard a US Army plane exposed America's claims as a global champion of human rights and democracy.
"The heart-rending ordeal of Indian citizens deported to India in the US Army plane is the ultimate denunciation of American pretensions as the global defender of human rights and democracy," said Ashwani Kumar.
Former Union Minister Kumar also appealed to External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar to take up the matter at the highest level in the US Administration and urged for concrete punitive action against those responsible for the inhuman treatment of Indians.
In a statement, Ashwani Kumar said, "The reported chaining and handcuffing of helpless captives aboard the American military plane, completely restricting their movement and even their access to toilet must put to shame all those responsible for the infraction of our citizens' right to dignity and privacy. The guilty need to be made accountable for the torture of helpless captives."
"The mental and physical torture of our citizens by the US authorities merits a firm and suitable response from the Indian Government," said Kumar.
"Clearly protecting the dignity and basic human rights of Indian citizens is the first charge on the resources of the Indian state," he added.
Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal also spoke about the deportation and said, "PM Modi ji calls Trump (US President Donald Trump) his friend. I request PM Modi to speak to Trump to find a solution to this issue."
"Out of 104 persons, around 30 people are from Punjab. All of them are in good health condition," he added.
Meanwhile, Opposition MPs on Thursday held a protest outside Parliament against External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's statement in Rajya Sabha, on the deportation of Indian illegal immigrants by the United States on February 5.
In his statement on the US deportation of Indian nationals in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Jaishankar said that deportations by the US are organized and executed by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft used by ICE is effective from 2013.
He said that there has been no change from past procedures for the flight undertaken by the US on February 5.
Jaishankar has said that it is the obligation of all nations to take back their nationals if they are found to be residing there illegally and said that the Indian government is engaging the US government to ensure that the deportees are not mistreated in any manner.
He called people-to-people exchanges the "bedrock" of the deepening ties between India and the US. He stressed that mobility and migration have a key role in enhancing its quality. He noted that illegal mobility and migration have many other associated activities also of illegal nature.
This comes after a US Air Force plane carrying Indian citizens who allegedly illegally migrated to the US arrived in Punjab's Amritsar on Wednesday. As many as 104 Indian nationals were onboard the plane that landed in Amritsar.
Earlier in the day, several opposition MPs slammed the centre for the way Indians staying illegally in the United States were deported, questioning the treatment meted out to them.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday launched a sharp criticism at the Central government and while highlighting the relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, questioned PM Modi why he let this incident happen.
In a video shared by the All India Congress Committee, Vadra said, "A lot of things were said that President Trump and PM Modi are very good friends. Why did PM Modi let this happen?"
Couldn't we have sent our own aircraft to bring them back? Is this how humans are treated? That they are sent back handcuffed and shackled? EAM and PM should answer," the Congress MP said.
Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal, Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav, and a few other leaders were also seen sporting handcuffs to mark their protest outside the main door of the Parliament alleging that Indian citizens were subjected to inhuman treatment while being deported from the US. Placards held by the members read "Humans, not prisoners."
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi Priyanka Gandhi and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and several other notable leaders Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal, SP MP Dharmendra Yadav were protesting outside parliament.