Controversy rife over Punjab being chosen to land the plane
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann addresses a press conference over deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the US. PIC/PTI
Amid US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration, a second US plane carrying 119 deported Indian nationals landed at Punjab’s Amritsar airport around 10 pm on Saturday. Among them, 67 are 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.
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Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday kept up his attack on the Centre over the landing of US planes carrying illegal Indian immigrants at Amritsar airport and asked it not to make the holy city a “deport centre”. A few days before, February 5, a US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian deportees landed at the Amritsar airport, because of which on Friday, Mann questioned the decision to land another plane at the Amritsar airport and accused the Centre of trying to defame Punjab as part of a conspiracy.
“The BJP-led Centre always discriminates against Punjab. It does not let go of any chance of defaming the state,” Mann had said “As part of a conspiracy, they are trying to defame Punjab and Punjabis. What is the criterion for choosing Amritsar? The Centre and the Ministry of External Affairs should tell me. Why did you choose Amritsar and not the national capital? You did this to defame Punjab and Punjabis,” Mann had alleged.
The chief minister visited the airport on Saturday but has also been at the receiving end from Punjab Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Saturday alleged that the Bhagwant Mann government in the state has “failed” in curbing human trafficking. Bajwa, Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, asked CM Mann how many travel agents were booked for human trafficking in the last three years. He said the Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Act 2012 regulates the profession of travel agents to check and curb illegal activities.
“Can CM Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the Home portfolio, let the Punjabis know how many travel agents have been booked under the same law in the last three years?” Bajwa asked. Satnam Singh Chahal, the Executive Director of the North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) on Saturday alleged that despite repeated warnings and several tragic incidents, the government has failed to implement effective measures to curb illegal migration. “The government must take immediate steps to strengthen enforcement, increase awareness and work closely with international agencies to put an end to this crisis,” Chahal said.
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