Chandigarh: Sharpening his attack on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government over the issue of landing of US planes carrying illegal Indian immigrants at Amritsar airport, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday asked it not to make the holy city a “deportation centre’’.
Mann’s remarks came hours ahead of the landing of the second US flight carrying 119 illegal Indian immigrants, of whom 67 are said to be from Punjab. On February 5 last, a US military airplane carrying 104 illegal Indian deportees landed in Amritsar airport.
The chief minister, who visited the Sri Guru Ram Dass International Airport at Amritsar earlier in the day to foresee the arrangements for receiving the deportees scheduled to land post 10 pm Saturday night, said that history had examples that whosoever has tried to cast a malicious eye on this land had never survived.
He alleged that the Modi government was “indulging in dirty tantrums by landing the planes of deportees on repeatedly on this revered land with the sole motive of defaming the Punjab and Punjabis’’.
Mann said that on one hand the Prime Minister was hugging the US President during his recent tour and at the same time the chained Indians were being shamefully deported back to their native land. He should have at least offered to send the planes from the country to bring back the Indians, Mann held.
Meanwhile, the chief minister said that all the necessary arrangements have been made for boarding and lodging of the deportees landing at the Amritsar airport for Saturday night. He said that the officers have been deputed to ensure that all the deportees reach their home safely after landing at the airport.
AMRITSAR CLOSEST FOR USA: BJP
Meaning hitting back, the BJP national spokesperson R P Singh held that since Amritsar is the closest international airport for the flights entering India from the USA, the US aircraft carrying the illegal immigrants is landing there. Rebuking Mann’s remarks questioning the decision to land another plane carrying illegal Indian deportees at Amritsar airport, Singh asked him on X not to politicise the issue and promote conspiracy theories due to his lack of knowledge.
