New Delhi: India on Friday indicated that it was taking up with the United States the presence of pro-Khalistan extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun at one of the US presidential events where he was found sloganeering in support of “Khalistan”. India also said it envisages a “bolder, bigger and more ambitious” relationship with the US and reiterated its stand that India has been willing to take back Indian illegal immigrants in the US provided New Delhi is given documents by the American side to verify the Indian nationality of such persons.
At his weekly briefing on Friday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “Whenever there is an anti-India activity, we take up such matters with the US government. So, we will continue to raise such issues with the US government which have a bearing on our security (and) which have an anti-India agenda.”
It may be noted that even though Pannun had been routinely making terror threats against India and Indian entities, the earlier Biden administration was seen as looking the other way during its term in office. However, the Biden administration was demanding action from India on an alleged foiled plot to kill Pannun — believed to be a dual US and Canadian citizen –in New York in 2023.
Meanwhile, on illegal immigration, the MEA spokesperson said: “India is against illegal immigration especially as it is linked to several forms of organised crime. For Indians, not just in the US but anywhere in the world, if they are Indian nationals and they are overstaying or they are in a particular country without proper documentation, we will take them back provided documents are shared with us (by the US side) so that we can verify their nationality, that they are indeed Indians. If that is the case, we will take things forward. We will facilitate their return to India. At this point in time, any talk about numbers is premature.”
It may be noted that the US had last year compiled a list of 14.5 lakh illegal immigrants from several nations, of which about 18,000 were claimed to be Indians.
