NEW DELHI – The Indian parliament disrupted on Thursday when opposition lawmakers protested against the alleged abuse of 104 Indian immigrants deported by the United States.
An American military plane carrying Indian immigrants arrived in a northern Indian city on Wednesday, according to President Donald Trump’s administration, the first flight to the country as part of the crackdown.
Renuka Chowdhury, a lawmaker in the Congress party, said that the deported people were “handcuffed, their legs were tied and even struggled to use the washroom.” His colleague, Gorao Gogoi, called him “derogatory”.
Parliament postponed when the opposition shouted slogans and demanded talks about flights.
After a controversial flight to Brazil on January 25, protests had shown concerns that the country’s government had forced 88 passengers to seek clarification about “derogatory behavior”.
US civilian officials also raise immigrants through their ankles and wrists, but flights to India are rare. The American Immigration and Customs Enforcement had three flights to Amritsar city last year.
The use of military aircraft for deportation in countries, including the Trump administration’s Guatemala and Ecuador, is relieved of the previous process, depending on the use of ICE chartered and commercial aircraft.
Parliament Speaker Om Berla, while trying to calm the lawmakers, said that the deportation of deportation is a matter of US foreign policy and that the United States also has its own rules and regulations. “
An deportation, Jaspal Singh, said that migrants’ handcuffs and leg chains were landed only at Amritsar airport in India.
Singh, 36, said he initially thought he was being taken to another US camp and had only found out about the exile on the plane only. “The flight was in 8-9 hours and an officer (we) told us that we were being deported,” he said.
Opposition legislators, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, also protested outside the parliament when they demanded a response from the government. Some were wearing a handcuffs and picked up play cards that wrote: “Man, not a prisoner.”
Gandhi, “Indian dignity and humanity deserve.” Is written on social media platform X.
Gandhi uploaded a video showing another deportation, Haroondar Singh, stating that he was handcuffed and his feet were bound for 40 hours. We were not allowed to move an inch from our seats. It was worse than hell, “he said.
On Thursday, Indian Foreign Minister Subramaniam Jaishkar told the upper house of parliament that the US rules have allowed the use of sanctions on both military and civilian flights since 2012. US officials have informed them that women and children are not stopped, he said.
“The past method of flight from the United States has not changed, nor has there been any change,” he said on Wednesday.
Jaishkar said the government was “engaging US officials” to ensure that the returning exiles would not be abused. “
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington next week. Trump and Modi discussed immigration in a phone call last week, and Trump emphasized the importance of proper bilateral trade and buying more US -made security equipment in India.
A spokesman for the US Embassy in New Delhi said the implementation of immigration laws is important for the country’s national security and public protection.
“It is the United States policy to act loyal to immigration laws against all unacceptable and removable foreigners,” said Christopher Elms.
During the 12 -month period ending September 30, Indians were arrested more than 14,000 times for illegally entering the United States on the Canadian border. Along with this border, all arrests were more than 60 % and more than 10 times the number two years ago. Meanwhile, Indians were arrested more than 25,000 times on the Mexico border.
Indian Foreign Minister Jaishkar told Parliament that 15,668 Indian nationals have been deported back from the United States since 2009.
