Several Opposition members in the Lok Sabha raised the issue of deportation of undocumented Indians and the manner in which they were treated by the United States on Tuesday (February 11, 2025). Last week, a U.S. military aircraft carrying 104 Indians illegally staying in the U.S. landed in Amritsar, the first such batch of Indians deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of a crackdown against illegal immigrants. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Congress MP Manish Tewari said that there are 725,000 lakh undocumented Indians in the U.S. and of this number, 24,000 are in custody. “The so-called illegal immigrants were not hardened criminals and had gone in search of a livelihood. Will all be returned in handcuffs and chains?” asked Mr. Tewari. While the Chair noted that his concerns had been recorded as part of House proceedings, Mr. Tewari took to social media to say that he was cut short before he could finish. “Extremely unfortunate that my microphone was shut off when I put forth the sensitive issue of Indians detained in the USA being deported to India in handcuffs and shackles, completely robbed of basic human dignity and rights,” Mr. Tewari said in a post on X. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav raised it in his speech while discussing the Union Budget and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that women and children return in a civilian plane. “I want to tell Modi ji, who is going to the U.S., that he should get the women and children returned on a separate plane so at least they will be deported with some dignity. How are agents perpetrating fraud despite his presence at the top?” Mr. Yadav asked. Fleeing unemployment Congress MP from Meghlaya’s Tura constituency, Salen A. Sangma, made the point that the deported Indians had to risk illegal migration because of poor employment and livelihood options. Apart from the deportation issue, the Budget discussion in the Lok Sabha also saw many MPs resorting to cricketing analogies to make their points. “INDIA alliance is like a cricket team that has a batsman named Congress who is bent on getting others run out,” said Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, who is the son of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. He was referring to the results of the Maharashtra and Delhi Assembly polls. Hitting back, Vishal Patil, independent MP from the Sangli Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra and now a Congress associate, took a dig at the Mahayuti government in the State saying the “12th man is now running the State.” “Previously, in order to get a useless guy married, people used to show the photograph of an intelligent boy. This is what has happened in Maharashtra, they showed the face of Eknath Shinde, and after the results, some other person became the groom,” Mr. Patil said in an apparent dig at BJP leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. “The man of the match was made 12th man, and the 12th man is now running the government after becoming the captain,” he added.