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Noting that the presence of illegal immigrants is an international issue, India's former Ambassador to the US and BJP leader Taranjit Singh Sandhu has said that the ecosystem of human trafficking needs to be tackled and the real solution to this lies in ensuring education and skill development.
In an interview with ANI, Sandhu said the government officials have conveyed that they are in contact with the US authorities over concerns about the conditions under which people are brought back. "Illegals are an international issue with many countries, including in India...If there's any mistreatment or ill-treatment, the Government of India has already said that it is taking up with the US, so I'm sure that if it needed the Prime Minister's attention, it would have been taken up there by him," he said "But more importantly, there are people who fool them (illegal Indian immigrants), their parents, have taken Rs 35 to 30 lakhs...It is very important that those people agents and their godfathers are held accountable and the local government also needs to focus on that. The real solution to this lies in ensuring education and skill development. We are undertaking efforts in Amritsar and the government in this budget has put more money for skilled development and education," Sandhu said. The former envoy said it is incumbent on the part of the local government and others concerned that youth are skilled. "When you have skills, you are useful here and if you are going abroad, there is utility, nobody will even think of throwing you out," he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India is willing to take back its nationals if they live illegally in the United States and laid emphasis on the need to finish the "ecosystem" of human trafficking. PM Modi also expressed confidence that President Donald Trump will fully cooperate with India in finishing this ecosystem. "Those who stay in other countries illegally do not have any legal right to be there. As far as India and the US are concerned, we have always said that those who are verified and are truly the citizens of India - if they live in the US illegally, India is ready to take them back," PM Modi said, answering a query at the joint press conference with President Doald Trump after their bilateral talks. He said most of the people staying illegally are from ordinary families and are misguided by human traffickers. "But it doesn't stop just there for us. These are people from ordinary families. They are shown big dreams and most of them are such who are misled and brought here. So, we should attack this entire system of human trafficking. Together, it should be the effort of the US and India to destroy such an ecosystem from its roots so that human trafficking ends...Our bigger fight is against that entire ecosystem, and we are confident that President Trump will fully cooperate with India in finishing this ecosystem," he added. US had recently sent over 100 Indians, who it said were illegal immigrants, to the country in a military plane with "restraints" which caused a political furore in the country. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had given a statement in Parliament on the deportation of Indian nationals. Officials have said India has been in contact with the US authorities over concerns about the conditions under which people are brought back. (ANI)
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