Amritsar, 15 February 2025– Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries, Ravneet Bittu, accused Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of being responsible for the deportation crisis as he spoke to the media at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport on Saturday. His remarks came ahead of the arrival of a US military aircraft carrying the second batch of deportees.
Bittu said Mann failed to address illegal immigration despite being in power for three years. “When the first flight of deportees landed in Amritsar, CM Bhagwant Mann was busy campaigning for Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi. Now, under a hatched plan, he is accusing the Centre of defaming Punjab. Why couldn’t he take action against the illegal immigration racket operating in the state? He has let down the people of Punjab,” Bittu said.
Responding to Mann’s claim that the Modi government was tarnishing Punjab’s image by landing deportee flights in Amritsar, Bittu dismissed the allegation.
“We don’t know the total number of illegal immigrants still under detention in the US. There is no information to suggest that only Punjab is being targeted. Detainees belong to various states, including Haryana, Gujarat, and Maharashtra,” he said.
Bittu questioned why the return of Indian citizens was being framed as an embarrassment. “How is a plane landing in Punjab a matter of shame? These planes are bringing our own people back safely. We are, in fact, providing a safe homecoming to our own people,” he said.
