New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi should immediately talk to US President Donald Trump to appeal for intervention on the "mistreatment and atrocities" against Indians, the Congress said on Tuesday after a video emerged showing an Indian student being handcuffed and pinned to the floor at a US airport.
Congress leaders shared the video and pictures of the Indian student handcuffed and pinned to the floor at the Newark Airport before he was allegedly deported.
The Consulate General of India in New York has said it is in touch with local authorities.
"We have come across social media posts claiming that an Indian national is facing difficulties at Newark Liberty International Airport. We are in touch with local authorities in this regard," the Indian Consulate said in a post on X.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Modi government is continuously failing to protect the honour of India and Indians.
"For the first time in history, a US head of state has announced a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in Washington DC. The US President is continuously claiming credit for maintaining pressure on India. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi has not been able to summon the courage to speak - either on the ceasefire or on the atrocities being perpetrated against Indians in the US," Ramesh said in a post on X.
Protecting the honour of India and Indians is one of the most important responsibilities of the Prime Minister of India, he asserted.
"We demand that Prime Minister Modi should talk to President Trump and appeal for intervention in the atrocities happening against Indians and the fear that has gripped lakhs of Indian students in America," Ramesh said.
He called on Modi to appeal to Trump for intervention on the "mistreatment and atrocities" being committed against Indians in America.
Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera tagged a post on X carrying the video, which was uploaded by Indian-American social entrepreneur Kunal Jain. The video shows the Indian man pinned to the ground by Port Authority Police and being handcuffed.
"I witnessed a young Indian student being deported from Newark Airport last night - handcuffed, crying, treated like a criminal. He came chasing dreams, not causing harm. As an NRI, I felt helpless and heartbroken. This is a human tragedy," Jain said in his post.
Tagging Jain's post, Khera said, "This is too painful, too humiliating and too distressing to watch. As a country, why should we tolerate this humiliation?" "From the days where we showed the muscle to the US during the Devyani Khobragade issue to now seeing our citizens being treated like animals, do we have no goodwill left in the world?" the Congress leader said.
At a press conference at the Congress' Indira Bhawan headquarters here, Shrinate played the video of the incident and said "this is an extremely important matter that concerns all of us".
"What you saw in the video is an Indian student who has gone to America with dreams and aspirations, but the reality is that he is being treated like a hardened criminal. He is being handcuffed, he is being beaten up, and he's being deported. For what? Because he went to America with some dreams in his eyes. And he is not the first Indian student to be treated like this," she said.
This has happened with multiple students where, in some context or the other, they are being manhandled, they are being booted out, and they are being deported out of the US, she said.
"The backlog is increasing as far as Visa is concerned. Admissions are being denied. And not just that, 682 Indians were handcuffed. They were put in military planes and sent back to India. If anybody has broken any law to be in your country, there is a human way to behave with them. For countries like China and Nepal, America sends people in commercial flights," she claimed.
"And our people were stuffed into a military aircraft, and you should have read and heard the ordeal. They could not defecate or urinate for multiple hours at a stretch, women and children alike. And not a squeak from our government. What is our government doing?" Shrinate said.
Alleging that America is constantly insulting India, Shrinate said US President Donald Trump has said not once or twice but 12 times that he ensured the ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
"Our Prime Minister doesn't utter a word. He keeps saying I threatened them with the trade deal; the PM said nothing. He has threatened us with tariffs, and not a squeak from the central government. He calls India an abuser, the worst, and a fraud while PM Modi is on American soil; Modi is silent," she said.
"America is treating India and Pakistan in one breath. We are not equals. And how dare America think that India and Pakistan are equals? India is a thriving democracy. India has made a huge stride. Pakistan is a terror state," she said.
"Is the PM of India meant to go and hug state heads? No. He is supposed to put India's interest first; he is supposed to raise his voice if India or Indians are being humiliated anywhere in the world," Shrinate said.
When will the PM of this country rise to the occasion and protect the honour and dignity of Indians, she asked.
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