External affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday told the Rajya Sabha that the deportation of illegal immigrants from the US to India is not a new phenomenon and that there has been a standard operating procedure in place till 2012.

His clarification came against the backdrop of outrage over Indians being chained and handcuffed onboard the US military aircraft that landed with 104 deportees in Amritsar on Wednesday.

He underlined that there had been many similar deportations before.

Jaishankar said that deportation procedures, effective from 2012, allow for the use of restraints, but clarified that ICE (the US’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement) had said that women and children are not restrained.

The needs of deportees, including food, other necessities, and medical emergencies, are addressed during transit, Jaishankar said.

“Deportees are temporarily unrestrained for toilet breaks as needed,” he said. “This applies to both civilian and military aircraft.”

He added: “There has been no change from past deportation procedures. Women and children were not restrained. Food and other necessities were attended to. They were given unrestrained toilet access.”

Since landing at Amritsar airport, several of the Indian deportees told the media that they were kept in chains during the course of the flight and provided only fruits by a “kind” member of the crew.

“We are engaging with the US administration so that the deportees are not mistreated,” Jaishankar said.

“Our focus now is on strong crackdown on the illegal immigration industry. After talking to the deportees, the law enforcement agencies will take strong action against the rogue agents,” he said.

As he ended his statement, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar called for order in the House, reminding members of parliamentary rules.

He explained that under Rule 251, a minister can make a statement on a matter of public importance with the chairman's consent, but no questions are allowed during the statement.

The chairman explained that his permission was sought and granted for the minister's statement, following a request from the Leader of the Opposition and agreement from the parliamentary affairs minister and Leader of the House.

Considering public sentiment and the need for clarity, the chairman allowed brief interventions, up to three minutes each, stating this would not set a precedent.

Then, Congress Rajya Sabha member R.S. Surjewala raised four questions for the government.

“Out of the 7.25 lakh [undocumented] Indians, how many the Indians the US administration is preparing to deport? Is it humane? How many more thousands of Indians are kept in detention centres? What are their conditions? Do they have consular access?”

AAP member Sanjay Singh said the deportees belonging to Haryana were taken from the airport in prison vans.

“Even the Indian government did not stand with these people. Were you [the government] unaware that a US military aircraft had landed on Indian soil,” asked Singh.

JDU member Manoj Jha asked if the government had been given notice by the US administration about the deportation.

“How many more are in the pipeline? Are any legal or consular services provided to these people? What actions are being taken against the agents who promised them their dream destination? They might be illegal for the US, but they are our own people,” Jha said.

Replying to the Opposition members, Jaishankar said, “We verified the nationality and gave the aircraft clearance to land. This is not a new issue, it was happening earlier. Consular access in many cases the embassy would like to provide but the citizen has to request. In many cases there were no requests.

“After their return, the authorities have been given instructions to sit with every returnees and find out about the agents, how they were taken to the US and the process. They were misled by the agents,” he added.

The row over the deportation rocked both Houses of Parliament on Thursday, with repeated adjournments in the Lok Sabha as well.

Jaishankar’s statement came after Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for about an hour during the pre-noon session without transacting any business as the Opposition MPs tried to raise the issue of the deportations.