Death of 39 Indians in Iraq: Amarinder Singh shattered; 'Will we play politics even on people's death?' asks Swaraj
Death of 39 Indians in Iraq: Amarinder Singh shattered; 'Will we play politics even on people's death?' asks Swaraj
The Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday said all the 39 Indians were kidnapped by and allegedly killed by ISIS in Iraq's Mosul near about three years ago. The Minister also said, the bodies of the Indian labourers had been recovered.
The Indians were kidnapped by the ISIS. Among those 39 Indians, most of them were from Punjab, said Swaraj. MoS EAM, General VK Singh, will go to Iraq to bring back mortal remains of all the Indians. “General VK Singh will go to Iraq to bring back mortal remains of Indians killed in Iraq.The plane carrying mortal remains will first go to Amritsar, then to Patna and then to Kolkata,” Swaraj said.
As many as nearly 40 Indian labourers were taken hostage by ISIS in Iraq's Mosul in 2014. When the labourers were trying to leave Mosul they were obstructed and kidnapped by the ISIS. Fortunately one of the labour escaped by posing as a Muslim from Bangladesh, Swaraj said in the Rajya Sabha.
The remaining 39 Indians were taken to abducted and killed. Adding further Swaraj, Harjeet Masih was not harassed. "It is baseless that Harjit Masih was harassed, he was kept in protective custody. I had said this in Parliament earlier," Swaraj said.
During Parliament proceedings, Congress disrupted Swaraj speech, in return EAM Minister slammed them hard. "Will we play politics even on people's death?" Swaraj asked.
While Congress Minister Shashi Tharoor stated that government had mishandled the issue and asked, Why did the government still kept saying with such conviction that those people were alive.”
The Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, tweeted, that he was shattered about the dead of the Indians. "Shattered at the heart-wrenching news from @SushmaSwaraj that the 39 Indians missing in Iraq, most of whom were Punjabis, are dead. My heart goes out to the families who had been living in hope since their reported abduction by ISIS in 2014. Prayers with all of them," Amarinder Singh said on Twitter.
Even the Punjab's AAP leader and MLA blammed the government of playing politics over the dead, "BJP had been playing politics on such a sensitive issue for over three years..They have lost all credibility. They should apologise to the nation and family members of the dead, most of them who hailed from Punjab," Aman Arora, AAP MLA and senior leader, told The Hindu.