Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann alleges Centre is intentionally defaming Punjab, opposition dismisses claims as 'politically motivated'
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday strongly criticised the central government for allowing another flight carrying deported Indian nationals from the US to land in Amritsar, alleging that the BJP-led government is intentionally trying to damage Punjab's reputation by consistently choosing Amritsar as the arrival destination for these flights.
Meanwhile, The BJP and Congress have vehemently dismissed Bhagwant Mann's criticism, terming it as politically motivated.
CM Bhagwant Mann also questioned the Centre's decision to select Amritsar as the landing site, suggesting it was politically motivated.
"The BJP-led Centre always discriminates against Punjab. It does not let go of any chance of defaming Punjab. As part of a conspiracy, they are trying to defame Punjab and Punjabis," alleged Mann, while addressing the media in Amritsar.
"Now the second plane is coming. It will also land at Amritsar airport tomorrow. Why? What is the criterion for choosing Amritsar? The centre and Ministry of External Affairs should tell me. Why did you choose Amritsar and not the national capital? You did this to defame Punjab and Punjabis," Mann stated, as quoted by PTI.
Congress MP Gurjit Singh Aujla on Saturday dismissed Punjab CM's criticism.
Aujla defended Punjab's reputation, emphasising the significant contributions of NRIs to the state's economy and the well-being of Punjabis abroad.
"What Bhagwant Mann said was merely to create a headline. It was all meaningless. The flight should have landed in Delhi. Punjab is not getting defamed in any way. Punjab has a lot of NRIs, and they contribute to our economy in a big way. Punjabis are living a happy life abroad," Aujla stated, as quoted by ANI.
Meanwhile, BJP also dismissed Mann's accusations, calling them politically motivated.
As per the reports, BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal said, "Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann should avoid doing politics on such sensitive issues. AAP leaders do not care about the security of the country; they only do politics."
"Did you see any interviews of the deportees from Gujarat on national television? Only the interviews of Punjab's youths were shown. Even tomorrow, you will go there to take their interview. We strongly object to the plane being made to land in Amritsar," he added.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar recently addressed concerns in the Rajya Sabha regarding the handling of deportations, emphasising that countries are duty-bound to accept their nationals who have been living abroad illegally.
He also explained that the deportations were carried out by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following standard procedures established in 2012.
A US plane carrying 119 illegal immigrants will land at the Amritsar airport on Saturday, the second such batch of Indians deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of its promised crackdown on illegal migration.
The flight is expected to land at the airport around 10 pm on Saturday, official sources said. Among the 119 deportees, 67 are from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Goa, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
A third plane carrying deportees is also expected to land on February 16.
On February 5, a US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed at the Amritsar airport. Of them, 33 each were from Haryana and Gujarat, and 30 from Punjab.