Second US Flight Carrying 119 Indian Migrants To Land In Amritsar Today

Picture source: PTI

A US Plane carrying 119 illegal immigrants is set to land at the Amritsar airport on Saturday. This is the second batch of deportees, after US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal migrations in his country. 

According to PTI sources, the flight is expected to land at the airport around 10 pm on Saturday. Among the 119 deportees, 67 are from Punjab, 33 are from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh and two each from Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. 

A third flight carrying deported Indian nationals from the United States is expected to land in Amritsar on February 16, following the arrival of two previous flights.

On February 5, a US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed at Amritsar airport. Among them, 33 were from Haryana, 33 from Gujarat, and 30 from Punjab.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday criticized the Centre over the arrival of another deportation flight, alleging that the government was deliberately trying to tarnish Punjab’s image. He accused the Centre of orchestrating a conspiracy to defame the state.

"The BJP-led Centre always discriminates against Punjab. It does not let go of any chance of defaming the state," Mann told reporters in Amritsar on Friday. "As part of a conspiracy, they are trying to defame Punjab and Punjabis," he added. 

Mann questioned the Centre on the criteria used to select Amritsar airport for the second deportation flight. "Why was Amritsar chosen? The Centre and the Ministry of External Affairs should explain. Why not the national capital? This is a deliberate attempt to defame Punjab and Punjabis," he said.

Highlighting that deportation is a national issue, Mann argued that it was being portrayed as if only Punjabis migrate illegally.