'Test For Indian Diplomacy': Congress On 'Handcuff' Row Ahead Of 119 Illegal Immigrants' Return

A US plane carrying 119 Indian immigrants will land in Amritsar today. A row had erupted in India after the first batch of immigrants landed since they were handcuffed and chained during deportation.

A second US plane carrying 119 Indians will land at the Amritsar airport on Saturday as part of Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigrants, which he resolved to carry out after being sworn as the President for the second time. Ahead of the plane's anticipated landing at 10 PM, Congress leader P Chidambaram said that "all eyes will be on the US aircraft" as he questioned whether the deportees of the second batch will be shackled or not. He called it a "test for Indian diplomacy".

"All eyes will be on the U.S. aircraft which will land today in Amritsar bringing back illegal immigrants. Will the deportees be handcuffed and their legs tied with ropes? It is a test for Indian diplomacy," Chidambaram said in a post on X.

Among the 119 illegal Indian immigrants, 67 hail from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, official sources told news agency PTI.

The second plane is set to land right after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to India following his official visit to the US, where he engaged in bilateral talks with President Trump.

The development comes after a US military's C-17A Globemaster III carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed at the Amritsar airport last week. Of them, 30 were from Punjab, and 33 each were from Haryana and Gujarat. A third US plane is expected to land in India on February 16. 

A row erupted in India after the first batch of illegal immigrants landed as opposition leaders questioned the way the Indians were handcuffed and chained by the US during deportation. The members of opposition even staged a shackles-and-chain protest outside the Parliament on February 6.

Following this, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on February 6 apprised the Parliament that the deportation of illegal migrants was not a new development and that the use of restraint during deportation was a "standard operating procedure" followed by the US.

He further informed the Parliament that Centre would be engaging with the US to ensure that the deportees were not mistreated in any manner while being sent back. Jaishankar had also said that it is the obligation of all countries to take back their nationals if they are found to be living illegally abroad.