While the row over the government’s handling of deportations from the United States of undocumented Indians is ongoing, Congress MP Manish Tewari has criticised External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar for attending “inane conferences” around the world.
What Did Manish Tewari Say About Undocumented Indians in US?
Tewari noted that there are around 7.25 lakh undocumented Indians in the US and 24,000 being held in detention camps. In a harsh post on social media platform X, he wrote, “According to US estimates there are 7.25 lakh undocumented Indians in the United States of America. 24,000 Indians are in US detention camps. 487 have been served final detention orders. 298 out of the 487 have been positively identified as Indians.” (sic)
How Did Manish Tewari Criticise EAM Jaishankar?
He also questioned the treatment of returning Indians by US authorites and alleged inaction about the human rights violations. “Would 7.25 lakh Indians be dumped back in India handcuffed & shackled stripped of their basic human rights and dignity in US Military planes as while Jaishankar trapezes around the world attending inane conferences?” Tewari questioned.
Earlier on February 7, Tewari had slammed Jaishankar’s defence in the Lok Sabha on the use of handcuffs and shackles by the Donald Trump administration, calling it “deeply shocking and acutely disturbing” and said the EAM seemed more aligned with a “mid-level official of the US government” than that of India’s Foreign Minister.
Manish Tewari Pans Use of Handcuffs and Shackles During Deportations
Sharing a post on X, Tewari wrote, “The statement of @DrSJaishankar in the Lok Sabha justifying, defending and endorsing the use of handcuffs and shackles by the @realDonaldTrump administration & @USBPChief is both deeply shocking and acutely disturbing.”
“He unfortunately sounded more like a mid-level official of the American Administration rather than the Foreign Minister of India. This para below in the statement wherein he says he will put American documents on the table of the house and also authenticate them makes one seriously question their intent as to where does the concern of the Government of India lie,” the post added.
Notably, the US Air Force plane carrying Indian citizens who “illegally immigrated” to the US arrived in Punjab’s Amritsar on Wednesday. A total of 104 Indian nationals were on board the plane that landed in Amritsar.
Opposition parties slammed the government inside and outside the parliament, saying that the deported Indians had been brought in an “inhuman manner” in a US military plane and alleged that they were “ill-treated and hand-cuffed.”
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