Amid US deportations, Partap Singh Bajwa hits out at Bhagwant Mann: ‘How many travel agents booked for human trafficking in 3 years?’
With the US deporting hundreds of illegal immigrants from India, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa accused Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann of failing to curb the human trafficking of Punjabis.
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Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa and CM Bhagwant Mann. (Express archive)With a second US plane with 119 Indian deportees scheduled to land in Amritsar on Saturday, Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, lashed out at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led government for its failure 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 illegal and fraudulent activities of people engaging in organised human smuggling in Punjab. “Can CM Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the Home portfolio, let Punjabis know how many travel agents have been booked under the same law in the last three years?” Bajwa asked.
Bajwa said that Mann has 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 one of AAP’s main election planks to stop the brain drain by motivating youngsters to explore careers in the home state,” Bajwa pointed out.
Bajwa said that it had been 10 days since the first flight carrying 104 deportees, including 30 Punjabis, arrived in Amritsar, and the Mann government failed miserably to provide a helping hand and announce any rehabilitation programme for them.
“He has not announced compensation for them. The AAP 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 to receive the 119 deportees arriving today in Amritsar. In the absence of a rehabilitation programme and compensation, this is nothing more than a publicity stunt. He always has a lust for publicity,” Bajwa said.
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bajwa 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 did not bother to raise the issue with US President Donald Trump. Is this how PM Modi would maintain the dignity of the sons and daughters of India?” he asked.
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