Why did plane carrying deportees land in Amritsar and not Delhi: AAP

The ruling AAP has accused the Centre of treating Punjab unfairly, questioning why the US aircraft that returned 104 illegal Indian immigrants chose to land in Amritsar instead of Delhi. Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla also questioned this issue and criticized the Centre for failing to oppose the deportation of its citizens.

The US military aircraft touched down at the Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport in Amritsar at 1:55 pm on Wednesday. Among those deported, there are 33 individuals from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh each, and two from Chandigarh.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Punjab AAP president and cabinet minister Aman Arora charged the Centre with delivering “step-motherly” treatment to Punjab regarding various issues.

“Deportees were from across the country. (Deportees) from other states were more than those from Punjab… (but) it (plane) landed in Amritsar. I am not objecting to them coming here but by leaving the national capital and landing it (plane) in Amritsar… there is substance in what you are saying,” he said when asked if there was a conspiracy to defame Punjab by landing the plane in Amritsar.’

Amritsar MP Aujla echoed similar sentiments on Thursday.

“Shameful & unacceptable! The Modi govt allowed Indian immigrants to be deported in shackles on a foreign military aircraft. Why no protest? Why not a commercial flight? Why didn’t the plane land in Delhi? This is an insult to our people & our sovereignty. The govt must answer,” Aujla said in a post on X.

Of the 30 illegal immigrants hailing from Punjab, six are from Kapurthala, five from Amritsar, four each from Patiala and Jalandhar, two each from Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, SBS Nagar, and one each from Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Sangrur, SAS Nagar and Fatehgarh Sahib.