The Centre has clarified in the Rajya Sabha that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has not deployed any Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft, chartered flights, or commercial civilian planes for repatriating Indian immigrants deported from any country since 2020.
Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita provided this information in a written response to a question posed by Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale.
Gokhale had sought details of instances where the MEA had used IAF or chartered aircraft to bring back deported Indian immigrants from 2020 to date. In response, Margherita stated that no such flights had been arranged for repatriation purposes.
However, in a few exceptional cases, deported Indian immigrants were provided financial assistance to purchase tickets on commercial flights.
The MP had also inquired whether any foreign countries had used military aircraft to deport Indian immigrants during this period. Margherita confirmed that the United States had used military planes to deport Indian immigrants in 2025.
He further revealed that since 2009, the US government has deported 15,564 Indian nationals using chartered or commercial aircraft.
Earlier this month, 112 Indian deportees arrived at Amritsar Airport as part of the third batch of deportations following US President Donald Trump's inauguration. On February 5, a US Air Force plane carrying the first batch of deported Indian citizens landed in Amritsar, Punjab.
The government's handling of these deportations has sparked criticism from opposition parties, who have accused authorities of allowing Indian nationals to be transported in an “inhuman manner.”
They claim that the deportees were allegedly mistreated and even handcuffed while being flown back on a US military aircraft. The controversy continues to stir debate both inside and outside Parliament.
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