Sharad Pawar's Party Leader Enters Maharashtra Assembly In Handcuffs. Here's Why

First, it was the Gujarat Congress MLAs. Then, the CPI(M) MLAs in Patna. Now, it's Sharad Pawar's Party MLA Jitendra Awhad.

As Maharashtra's Budget Session began on Monday, MLA Jitendra Awhad entered the Assembly in handcuffs, protesting the mistreatment of Indians being deported on American military planes, including being shackled during the long intercontinental journey.

"The way Indians are facing injustice in America and they are being tied and deported, there is a problem of visas, no Indian is safe in America. We (government) are not speaking a single word about America," claimed Mr Awhad, who walked to the waiting reporters with his arms handcuffed.

#WATCH | Mumbai: NCP-SCP leader Jitendra Ahwad comes out in handcuffs as he lodges his protest against the deportation of illegal immigrants from the US.

He says, "The way Indians are facing injustice in America and they are being tied and deported, there is a problem of visas,… pic.twitter.com/3o2OHIaiy3

— ANI (@ANI) March 3, 2025

The Trump administration has launched what it cast as a major effort to combat illegal migration that has included immigration raids, arrests and deportations. Trump has repeatedly framed illegal immigration as an "invasion" and has described undocumented migrants as "criminals" and "aliens."

India is one of the top sources of illegal immigration to the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. Indians, says the Center, constitute the third-largest group, behind Mexicans and Salvadorans.

Over 300 Indians have already been deported to India by the US in three different flights in the last month.

India has been maintaining that it will take back all Indians who have either overstayed in the US or are there without documentation after their nationality is verified.

"It is the obligation of all nations to take back their nationals, if they are found to be living illegally abroad," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Parliament on February 6.

Mr Jaishankar also told Parliament that deportation procedures "provide for the use of restraints," and he said American officials had confirmed to them that women and children were not shackled.

Recently, CPI(ML) MLAs chained themselves and demonstrated outside the State Assembly in Patna as a mark of protest against the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the United States.

CPI(ML) Mahboob Alam criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not speaking about the issue. Speaking to ANI, Mr Alam said, "You have seen how the US has insulted our migrant workers and how the PM has not yet made any statements on this. We will not tolerate any compromise of the country's self-respect. India should stop kneeling in front of America...."

Earlier, the Gujarat Congress MLAs also protested outside the State Assembly in Gandhinagar against the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the US while being handcuffed and shackled.

Gujarat Congress MLAs gathered outside the State Assembly in Gandhinagar and shouted slogans like "Bharatiya ka ye apman nahi sahega Hindustan (India will not tolerate this disrespect against the Indians)."