Don’t make our holy city deport centre, Govt should not defame Punjabis: CM Bhagwant Mann on deported Indians
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann targeted the BJP-led Centre and questioned how the saffron party would face the people of Punjab in the 2027 Assembly elections.
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After arriving at the airport, Mann targeted the BJP-led Centre and questioned how the saffron party would face the people of Punjab in the 2027 Assembly elections after ‘defaming’ the holy city of Amritsar. (Express Photo)Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Saturday continued to attack the Centre over the landing of US aircraft carrying deported Indians at Amritsar airport and asked it not to make the holy city a “deport centre”.
“Will anyone be allowed to land a plane (deportation flight) at Vatican City, if they (deportees) hail from there? Amritsar is a holy city. Do not make our holy city a deport centre. The BJP is intentionally defaming Amritsar by (allowing) such planes to land here,” Mann said.
“The Centre should not defame Punjab or Punjabis or vent out their anger on Punjabis just because they do not make the BJP win elections in the state,” he said.
Talking to reporters at Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport where he had reached to receive the deported Indians, Mann said there are many airbases in the country and the flight could have been diverted to any one of them. He said Amritsar is known for the Golden Temple, Durgiana Mandir, Ram Tirath temple, Jallianwala Bagh, and Gobindgarh Fort and holds a great significance for Punjab and Punjabis.
A second US flight carrying 119 illegal Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar Saturday night.
Mann claimed that landing a military aircraft at a civil airport in the border state is wrong and could pose a danger to the country’s security.
Replying to a question about BJP national spokesperson R P Singh’s remarks that Amritsar is the closest international airport for flights entering India from the US, Mann said, “If flights carrying deportees from America cannot land at Delhi because it is farther away from the US than Amritsar, then central government should consider launching direct flights from Amritsar to the US as well as Canada to save on fuel.”
Earlier, taking a dig at Mann, R P Singh said that Amritsar is the closest international airport for flights entering India from the US. “That’s why the plane carrying illegal immigrants is landing there. Stop politicising the issue and promoting conspiracy theories due to your lack of knowledge,” RP Singh said on X while tagging Mann.
Continuing to attack the Centre, Mann asked how the BJP would face the people of Punjab in the 2027 Assembly elections after “defaming” the holy city of Amritsar. “In every village, they will face these deportees. When (PM Narendra) Modi was hugging (US President Donald) Trump, that very same time the US was sending a plane carrying the immigrants,” he added.
Mann also said his government will provide opportunities to the deported Punjabis. “They are our people… If they can pass a competitive exam for a job, then it can be given.”
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