Tharoor hopes govt will consider case-by-case approach on deportation of Pakistanis

Thiruvananthapuram | Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday said that the deportation of Pakistanis should be considered on a case-by-case basis, as there have been many painful human stories.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP said that both governments have taken a hard stand, and obviously, that is what is currently being followed.

Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of a business excellence award distribution function organised by the Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industry here, Tharoor recalled the story of a woman of one nationality whose two-week-old baby holds another nationality.

"She has to go, and the baby has to stay. I do feel that ideally, we should have a case-by-case determination, look at the circumstances and make allowances one way or the other," Tharoor said.

Referring to Kerala, the Congress leader said there are people who have been living here since the 1940s and 1950s, and who have unfortunately never upgraded their nationality status.

"If, as a result, they become stateless, which is the case for two or three that I have been informed about. Stateless people are in a different category from people who are still Pakistani," Tharoor said.

"So I think the government will have to look at the merits of these cases and decide appropriately. But the government stand is the government stand and we have to respect it," he added.

His statement comes amidst the BJP’s demand that Pakistani nationals residing in Kerala should be immediately deported to ensure justice for those killed in the terror attack in Pahalgam.

Earlier, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar alleged that Kerala is the only state not complying with the directive to deport illegal Pakistani immigrants.

On the ongoing tussle between opposition parties, with claims and counterclaims over credit for the realisation of the Vizhinjam port construction, Tharoor said he has held the opinion for the last 16 years that everyone should work together for the benefit of the people and the state.

"We have our political differences, and we fight them in elections, and then it should be about the actual progress of the state. That has been my very strong stand throughout," he said.

"On the Vizhinjam Port, I pointed out that it was brought to the attention of Mr Adani by me as a Congress MP, at the request of the Congress Chief Minister of Kerala, and I was able to speak to and persuade him to bid for the tender," he added.

Tharoor said the project was then commissioned by the Congress government, continued by the CPI(M)-led LDF government, and finally commissioned by the BJP Prime Minister.

"This, in many ways, is the story that I would like to see replicated much more, and we need our country to be able to rise above our political differences when it comes to matters of growth, development, people's welfare and national security," Tharoor said.

He reiterated that the progress of the people should be above politics.