Since last week, Congress and its allies in the Opposition have been at a loss of words. The presentation of an exceptionally strong Union Budget, which pleasantly surprised the Indian middle class, along with the momentum leading up to the Delhi Assembly elections, has spurred broader public discourse in favour of the Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The news that 104 undocumented Indian immigrants were deported by the newly sworn-in Trump administration in the US—flown to India in a military aircraft and restrained during the flight—gave the Opposition the controversy they were desperately seeking.
In their wisdom, they believed that staging a protest within Parliament House, complete with mock handcuffing and slogan-shouting, would not only attract publicity but also serve two additional purposes: one, to insinuate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's perceived friendship with US President Donald Trump had failed to protect Indians and India's interests, and two, to project a semblance of unity within the Opposition, or the INDIA bloc, which has been teetering on the brink of collapse since the Parliamentary election results.
Perhaps they did not anticipate the government's swift response. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar addressed the issue in both Houses of Parliament. It takes courage, conviction and policy clarity to make such a statement on the floor of the House—especially amid the sound and fury raised by Opposition leaders, led by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Jaishankar was unapologetic: “It is the obligation of all nations to take back their nationals if they are found to be living illegally abroad. This is naturally subject to an unambiguous verification of their nationality. This is not a policy applicable to any specific country, nor indeed one only practised by India. It is a generally accepted principle in international relations.”
The deportation of illegal immigrants from the US to India is not a new phenomenon. It has occurred regularly since 2009, the UPA government's tenure. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for deportation by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including the use of restraints, have been in place since 2012.
Consider these figures:
- 2009: 734 Indians deported
- 2010: 799 deported
- 2011: 597 deported
- 2012: 530 deported
- 2013: 515 deported
- 2014: 591 deported
This process has continued under successive governments. Yet, Congress and its allies—now making an issue of these deportations—were conspicuously silent when the same occurred under their rule.
It is public knowledge that the US, under Trump's administration, has identified thousands of illegal immigrants from different parts of the world as part of his flagship strategy—a broader policy to enforce immigration laws more stringently. Nothing different has happened now compared to the procedures followed in the past. Women and children on board were not restrained.
It's true that images of deported Indian nationals—who had entered the U.S. illegally—being handcuffed and restrained onboard have not gone down well with the public. However, the manner in which the Congress and its allies raised the issue created a false impression that it was the Modi government's fault—as if the Indian government were responsible for American laws and the SOPs related to the identification and deportation of illegal immigrants.
The government remains mindful of public concerns regarding the treatment of deported individuals. “We are engaging the US government to ensure that the returning deportees are not mistreated in any manner during the flight,” said the External Affairs Minister. “At the same time, the House will appreciate that our focus should be to crack down strongly on the illegal migration industry while taking steps to ease visas for legitimate travellers. On the basis of information provided by returning deportees about the agents and others involved, law enforcement agencies will take necessary preventive actions,” he added.
Let us also recall the Tri-Valley University (TVU) scam of 2011. TVU, an unaccredited private university in California, was shut down after US authorities exposed a massive visa fraud. The university had issued F-1 visas to thousands of students, primarily from India, without providing legitimate education. Many students unknowingly became entangled in this fraudulent setup, only to face severe consequences when the institution was raided by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Innocent students were interrogated, handcuffed, jailed, and even radio-tagged like criminals, facing extreme humiliation. Many, especially from Andhra Pradesh, were left stranded, desperately seeking admissions to other colleges to salvage their careers. Students faced financial ruin as their families had spent substantial sums on their education, only to be trapped in legal limbo.
The then Congress-led government failed to take any decisive diplomatic or legal steps to support the affected students.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and some other leaders ask, “Why couldn't the Modi government send a chartered Indian plane to bring them back?” Imagine the kind of accusations they would have levelled had the Modi government actually sent a plane to bring back illegal immigrants identified by American authorities. Moreover, Vadra's statement—and those of others—reflects a clear lack of understanding of the difference between evacuation and deportation.
The Congress and its allies' stance on this issue also exposes their contradictory position regarding illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants in India. While they failed to protect Indian students abroad, they actively worked to protect illegal Bangladeshi immigrants within India for political gain. A WikiLeaks cable from 2006 revealed that Sonia Gandhi, during an election campaign in Assam, offered to amend the Foreigners Act to prevent the deportation of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
Congress had long protected illegal Bangladeshi migrants through a law it enacted—the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act (IMDT) of 1983. The Supreme Court struck down the IMDT Act in 2005, declaring it unconstitutional.
(The author is Consulting Editor, NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
