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Ahead of the arrival of a second US plane with 119 Indian deportees in Amritsar on Saturday, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa lashed out the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government on Saturday, for its failures to curb the human trafficking of Punjabis in the last three years.
The senior Congress leader said that the Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Act, 2012, regulates the profession of travel agents to check and curb the illegal and fraudulent activities of the persons and travel agents indulged in organised human smuggling in Punjab. "Can CM Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the Home Portfolio, let the Punjabis know how many travel agents have been booked under the same law in the last three years?," he asked. "Mann said that illegal immigration is not only a problem in Punjab but a national problem. True, but, is his government not responsible for acting if any illegality happens in the state? He seems to have been running away from his responsibilities. However, it was AAP's one of the main election planks to stop the brain drain by motivating youngsters to explore careers in the home state," he added. In an official statement released by his office, Bajwa said that it had been ten days since the first flight carrying 104 deportees from the US including 30 Punjabis arrived in Amritsar, and the AAP-led government has "failed miserably" to provide a helping hand and announce any rehabilitation programme for them. "He has not announced compensation for them. The AAP-led government has not assured them that the government would help them get their money refunded by the illegal travel agents. Mann says he is going the receive the 119 deportees arriving today in Amritsar. In the absence of a rehabilitation programme and compensation, this act of Mann is nothing more than a publicity stunt. He always remains lusty for publicity," Bajwa stated. Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the LoP in Punjab assembly said that inhuman treatment was meted out to Indian deportees in the previous flight. "They were handcuffed and shackled in the plane and they were not even allowed to use the washroom. However, during his recent US visit, PM Modi didn't bother to take up the issue with US President Donald Trump. Is this how PM Modi would maintain the dignity of the sons and daughters of India?" he said. Earlier today, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that all the facilities for food and stay will be provided to the people who allegedly were residing in the United States illegally and are being deported to India. "Our kids are the ones who are coming here anyway, so from here no one can go hungry, we will make arrangements. We have also made staying arrangements for them. They will stay here for a few hours and then go to their respective states as the flights have been booked by the Ministry of External Affairs already," Mann said during a press conference in Amritsar. (ANI)
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