LIVE | Modi slams Congress in Rajya Sabha speech, no word on deportees
Jaishankar tells Parliament that shackling deportees is not a new practice for the US and the focus should be on strong crackdown on illegal migration industry
"The President's speech was inspirational, effective and showed the way forward to us all," Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his speech in Rajya Sabha on Thursday (February 6) while replying to the Motion of Thanks debate on the President's speech.
In his 90-minute speech, he slammed the Congress's "appeasement politics", reminded the House how the Emergency crushed the spirit of the Constitution, how the "licence raj" during the Congress regime kept the country backward, and also took pot shots at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge over his poem recitations in the House to highlight how the country had got a viable alternative after 2014.
"This model is not focused on appeasement, but on satisfaction," he said.
Modi, however, did not utter a word about the deportation of 104 Indian citizens from the US in inhuman conditions. The Opposition's protest over the issue brought forth four adjournments in the Lok Sabha earlier in the day, with the final one being for the day.
Jaishankar's statement
The final adjournment came shortly after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's statement on the issue. He told both Houses of the Parliament — first the Rajya Sabha and then the Lok Sabha — that the government was engaging with the US to ensure that deported Indians were not mistreated and underlined that the focus should be on strong crackdown on the illegal migration industry.
The foreign minister’s statement in Parliament came a day after a US military aircraft dropped 104 illegal Indian immigrants in Amritsar, over which an uproar erupted in Parliament on Thursday regarding the manner in which the deportees were treated by the Americans — handcuffed and their legs shacked.
India engaging with US govt: EAM
Jaishankar started by saying that it is the fundamental responsibility for all nations to take back their citizens who are found to be living illegally abroad.
“We are of course engaging the US government to ensure the returning deportees are not mistreated in any manner during the flight,” Jaishankar said. “At the same time, the House will appreciate that our focus should be on strong crackdown on the illegal migration industry, while taking steps to ease visas for the legitimate travellers,” he said.
Also read: 33 Gujarati immigrants deported from US land in Ahmedabad
The minister stated that the process of deportation is not a new one. “The standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft provides for the use of restraints. However, we have been informed that women and children are not restrained,” he said.
“Further need of deportees during transit related to food and other necessities, including possible medical emergencies, are attended to. During toilet breaks deportees are temporarily unrestrained if needed. This is applicable to chartered civilian aircraft as well as military aircraft,” he said.
“There has been no change from past procedures for the flight undertaken by the US on February 5, 2025,” he added.
Opposition protests
On Thursday morning, Opposition MPs protested over the “inhuman” deportations and sought a discussion in Parliament. Several MPs, including Amritsar MP Gurujit Singh Aujla, were seen joining the protest sporting handcuffs on their hands. Lok Sabha was adjourned thrice over the issue, until Jaishankar addressed the Upper House at 2 pm and then the Lower House at 3.30 pm.
The 104 illegal Indian immigrants who landed in Amritsar are expected to be the first batch of deportees from the US as the Donald Trump government cracked down on illegal immigrants. Of them, 33 each were from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh.
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- 6 Feb 2025 8:33 AM GMT
Milkipur bypoll: SP accuses EC of partiality, protests in LS
Samajwadi Party members in the Lok Sabha held up a white sheet emblazoned with “Election Commission” to protest against the poll panel’s alleged partiality during the assembly bypoll in Uttar Pradesh’s Milkipur.
Separately, party chief Akhilesh Yadav told reporters in the Parliament complex that he should have brought a cloth to cover the Election Commission (EC) as the poll authority was “dead”.
Samajwadi Party members were targeted and threatened by the senior superintendent of police to the junior-most official in Ayodhya, he claimed.
He alleged that the EC did not ensure a free and fair bypoll, with the officials deputed being from a particular caste. The Kannauj MP also alleged that 500 complaints were lodged by his party using social media but no action was taken.
The Milkipur bypoll has turned into a prestige battle between the Samajwadi Party and the BJP as the seat is part of the politically significant Ayodhya district. In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Milkipur was the only assembly seat the BJP lost in Ayodhya district.
- 6 Feb 2025 8:26 AM GMT
PM did not campaign for anyone abroad: Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not campaign for anyone in the US and ticked off Congress Rajya Sabha MP Naseer Hussain for making such a claim.
Responding to a supplementary question in the Upper House, the minister said, “The member apparently has a party attitude, keeps uttering lies in the House. The prime minister did not campaign for anyone. This is not the first time this party has taken this position. I urge him to withdraw this.”
Hussain had claimed that the Indian prime minister campaigned in another country, adding that “Modi-ji’s friend assaulted Indians soon after becoming president”.
Hussain and some Congress members, however, objected to Jaishankar’s remark, saying he could not use “unparliamentary” language.
Deputy Chairman Harivansh, who was in the chair, said Hussain’s remark would not go on record as it was not related to his question on “monitoring of Indian students abroad post conflict situations”.
“(According to) Rule 238, a member has to take permission from the chairman before making an allegation against anyone holding a constitutional position. Nothing will go on record,” Harivansh said.
Responding to another supplementary question, Jaishankar said the government carefully monitored the number of students in all countries.
“We also carefully monitor their welfare. Wherever there is a situation of any tension or likelihood of violence, we alert the students, as we had done in Ukraine,” he said.
“Where there is a requirement for us taking any further steps like running a flight for their rescue or any other situation like that, we are prepared. We always have contingency plans,” he added.
- 6 Feb 2025 8:24 AM GMT
Deportation fine, but treatment unacceptable: Opposition
Opposition parliamentarians, including Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, protested the treatment meted out to the Indians by US authorities by staging a demonstration in Parliament complex on Thursday.
Some of the Opposition leaders protested while wearing handcuffs. Hitting out at the government, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said the way Indians were brought back showed the “weakness” of the government.
“The way women were treated and brought back handcuffed like criminals ... we will not tolerate the insult to the country,” he told reporters in Parliament complex.
He alleged that for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his personal image was more important than the standing of the country. “It is a black day ... the prime minister is silent,” he said.
Another Congress leader, KC Venugopal, wondered why diplomatic relations between India and the US were not coming handy to avert such situations. “We have moved a notice for an adjournment on this issue in Parliament,” the Lok Sabha member said.
Former Union minister and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said the US has a legal right to deport people living there illegally. But we are protesting the way they were sent back. He suggested a civilian aircraft could have been used for the purpose.
The TMC’s Kirti Azad also questioned the way Indians were sent back, describing the incident as “painful”.
Union minister Chirag Paswan said the government would put forth its views at an appropriate time. “It is a policy decision and it should not be politicised by the Opposition,” he said.
