'I Am Disturbed, Disappointed at S. Jaishankar’s Statement in Parliament' | Vivek Katju

There are established procedures to identify and return undocumented migrants from one country to another. It has to be done keeping in mind their dignity, says Vivek Katju, a former Indian diplomat, in this podcast interview with Sidharth Bhatia. 

He emphasised twice that he was “disappointed in Jaishankar’s statement” in Parliament explaining the manner in which the migrants were sent was according to American procedures. India too has a Standard Operating Procedure in taking back its nationals once they are identified. Jaishankar talked about the American SOPs, “why did he not talk about Indian ones?”

Katju says the restraints on them were not necessary and generally “military aircraft was not used, they are very uncomfortable”.

Modi is visiting the US at a time when the Washington DC was “quite unsettled”. He would be discussing all manner of subjects, including tariffs and also the migrants. He says countries have various ways to put their point across. According to him Modi is not a confrontational kind of person. He says India did not have the leverage that Canada, Mexico and China had. “But we should never be a pushover,” he emphatically says.