Government job is not like distribution of biscuits: VK Singh on Indians killed in Iraq

A special aircraft carrying the mortal remains of 38 Indians killed in Iraq arrived at the Amritsar International Airport on Monday.

File photo (Pic courtesy: Twitter/@Gen_VKSingh)

Amritsar: In what could be construed as controversial, Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh said on Monday that giving jobs to the families of the Indians who were slain in Iraq was not like ‘distributing biscuits.’ He also said that it was not like a game of football either.

"This is not a game of football, Both state and central government are sensitive governments. EAM had asked the families for the details of their members who can be given jobs etc, we will review," he said while addressing the press.

"This is not like distributing biscuits. This is about people’s life. How can I make an announcement now? Do you understand," Singh further told reporters.

Ye biscuit baantne wala kaam nahi hai, ye admiyon ki zindagi ka sawal hai,a gayi baat samajh mein?Main abhi elaan kahan se karoon?Jeb mein koi pitaara thodi rakha hua hai: VK Singh,MoS MEA on if there would be some compensation announced today for kin of 38 Indians killed in Iraq pic.twitter.com/jQFp2IXDLW — ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2018

A special aircraft carrying the mortal remains of 38 Indians killed in Iraq arrived at the Amritsar International Airport from Baghdad on Monday at around 2:30 pm.

Punjab: Mortal remains of the 38 Indians who were killed in Iraq, brought to Amritsar pic.twitter.com/ALGLHvZ67S

— ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2018

कुछ ज़िम्मेदारियों का बोझ काफी ज्यादा होता है। #RestInPeaceMyFellowIndians pic.twitter.com/7cyKDOySvY — Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) April 2, 2018

The presumed remains of one of those killed were yet to be positively identified, PTI reported.

A group of 40 Indian workers, mostly from Punjab, were taken hostage by ISIS when it overran Iraq's second largest city Mosul in 2014. One of them escaped by posing as a Muslim from Bangladesh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said in a statement in Rajya Sabha. The other 39 were dead and their bodies had been recovered, she had added. 

The EAM had further said that the bodies of the slain Indians were recovered from Badosh, a village northwest of Mosul and their identities had been established through DNA testing.

Singh had left for Iraq on Sunday to bring back the mortal remains of the Indians. While the remains of the 31 men belonging to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh were received at the Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport in Amritsar, the rest of the bodies were to their respective places in Patna and Kolkata.

Out of these, 27 belonged to Punjab while four hailed from Himachal Pradesh.

(With PTI inputs)