Amritsar, Feb 14 (IANS): Opposing the move of the Central Government to land the next plane carrying deported Indians at the Amritsar airport on Saturday, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday described it as a “conspiracy of the Union government to defame Punjab and Punjabis”.
Interacting with the media here, the Chief Minister said that despite Punjab being the food bowl and sword arm of India, the BJP-led government has started a tirade to defame the state. He said that the move to land the plane carrying deported Indians from the US “is just another attempt of the Government of India to tarnish the image of Punjab globally”.
It is learnt that A US plane carrying 119 illegal immigrants is likely to land at Amritsar airport on Saturday. This will be the second batch of Indians deported by the Trump government as part of a crackdown. The plane is expected to land at the airport around 10 p.m.
Mann questioned the move of MEA to choose Amritsar for landing this plane here whereas there are hundreds of other airports in the country. The Chief Minister said he has already raised this issue with the MEA and the MHA but hasn’t received any positive response from them.
He said that one plane had landed a few days back and now two more planes are being landed without any proper justification. Mann said Punjabis “are being targeted because Prime Minister and his party doesn’t like them despite of the fact that more than 90 per cent of people martyred, jailed or exiled during Indian freedom struggle were from Punjab”.
The Chief Minister said, “It is the moral responsibility of the MEA to explain why Punjab, especially Amritsar, has been chosen for this landing”. He said despite of fact that a hostile neighbour is 40 km away from Amritsar, an Army plane of the US is being landed here. Mann said when the state government “demands starting of international flights from here then the demand is declined by citing several frivolous reasons”.
However, the Chief Minister said to tarnish the image of the state the plane carrying deportees “is being landed here without any rationale”. He said, “If the plane carrying former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Shiekh Haseena can be landed at Hindon airport and Rafale can land in Ambala then why can’t be this plane taken to any other part of the country”.
Mann said illegal immigration “is not only the problem of Punjab but it is a national problem whereas projection is being made that Punjab is severely affected by this so only Punjabis are being deported from the United States”. Training his guns on Prime Minister Modi, the Chief Minister quipped that the “self-proclaimed global leader” has failed to secure the rights of Indians.
He said, “It is the failure of the foreign policy of the country as when Modi was shaking hands with his friend Donald Trump, at the same time the chained Indians were being deported through an army plane”. Mann said except for “his self-glorification, Modi has gained nothing for the country in his trip and the chained Indians deported to their native land are a return gift by Trump to Modi”.