I was targeted for organising langar for farmers, says PIO Dhaiwal

During his last visit at the Delhi airport on October 23, Dhaliwal and his wife were sent back in the same flight reportedly for not giving satisfactory response to the immigration officials

PRAVASISAMWAD.COM

It is not easy now to aid and abet the activities that go against the interests of India by the OCIs (Overseas Citizen of India) as the Indian Commissions abroad seem to have been actively keeping an eye on such activities and reporting them to the Indian Immigration officials.

At least one such case has hogged international limelight in which OCI Darshan Singh Dhaiwal and his wife were turned back to the United States after their arrival at the Delhi airport recently.

The issue grabbed political attention and five-time Chief Minister of Indian state of Punjab Prakash Singh Badal requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “personally invite Dhaliwal as a ‘goodwill gesture’ which will send a great positive signal to NRIs.”

After his return to the US Dhaliwal said he was targeted for his support to the farmers’ protest site in Singhu and funding langar (public food for the needy).

In his comments to the media he said every time he was visiting India he was asked questions about the source of money he was spending on langars.

Former Chief Minister of Punjab Prakash Singh Badal requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “personally invite Dhaliwal as a ‘goodwill gesture’ to send a positive signal to NRIs.

During his last visit at the Delhi airport on October 23, Dhaliwal and his wife were sent back in the same flight reportedly for not giving satisfactory response to the immigration officials.

A US national, Dhaliwal holds the status of Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and keeps on coming to India as and when needed. He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and had arrived India on October 23-24 to take part in his niece’s wedding, The Wire quoted Dhaliwal in its report.

“Dhaliwal along with his wife Debra, who is from the Netherlands, waited at the airport for around five hours only to be sent back to the US on the same flight,” the report said.

“When I went to the immigration counter, the officials told me to wait. I waited for more than an hour at the airport. I asked them again what was going on but they made me wait more. After two hours, they told me that I will have to go back to the US. When I asked why I was being denied permission to enter India, the immigration officials asked the same questions that they had been asking earlier too – why I organised the langar at Singhu border and who is paying for it…,” The Wire quoted Dhaliwal.

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