DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

The Punjab ruling Aam Aadmi party has accused the Centre of treating the state "step-motherly" and asked why the US aircraft that brought back 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar and not Delhi.

Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla slammed the Centre for not protesting the deportation of the Indian citizens.

A US military plane landed at the Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport in Amritsar at 1.55 pm on Wednesday. Of those deported, 33 each are from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Punjab AAP president and cabinet minister Aman Arora accused the Centre of meting out "step-motherly" treatment to Punjab at every step.

"Deportees were from across the country. (Deportees) from other states were more than those from Punjab ... (but) it (plane) landed in Amritsar. I am not objecting to them coming here but by leaving the national capital and landing it (plane) in Amritsar ... there is substance in what you are saying," he said when asked if there was a conspiracy to defame Punjab by landing the plane in Amritsar.

NRI Affairs minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal condemned the "mistreatment" of deportees, terming it "gross human rights violations." He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar must communicate to the US government that deported Indians should be handed over to Indian embassies for their safe return.

He also termed the choice of Amritsar airport for deportation as "politically motivated." Amritsar MP Aujla echoed similar sentiments on Thursday.

"Shameful & unacceptable! The Modi govt allowed Indian immigrants to be deported in shackles on a foreign military aircraft. Why no protest? Why not a commercial flight? Why didn't the plane land in Delhi? This is an insult to our people & our sovereignty. The govt must answer," Aujla said in a post on X.

Congress MLA Pargat Singh too slammed the Centre for landing the US plane at Amritsar.

"To protect the fake #GujaratModel and defame Punjab, the U.S. deportation flight was deliberately landed in Amritsar, Punjab even though most deportees were from Gujarat and Haryana," Jalandhar Cantt MLA said in a post on X. He alleged that when Punjab demanded international flights, it was not granted permission "to keep it away from its economic benefits."

AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang condemned the way deportees were brought on plane in shackles as "inhuman treatment." "The way they were handcuffed and deported, as if they were hardcore criminals, is extremely sad and condemnable. Immigration is a global phenomenon, and people often migrate in search of better opportunities. "Treating them like criminals not only tarnishes the image of our country but also leaves these individuals humiliated," the lawmaker said in a statement.

He also questioned the Prime Minister's "silence" on the matter, pointing out the "supposed camaraderie" between Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. "Modi claims that Trump is his friend. Then why is he not raising this issue with him? Why is he allowing Indians to be treated in such an undignified manner, as if they are criminals?" Kang said.

(editor@dailyworld.in)