Astonishingly 56,700 Indians face deportation from Saudi Arabia in the next one-and-half months and ten officials have been despatched to the kingdom to help the Indian mission prepare emergency certificates for their exit as informed by the External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid While he also added that as of now, 56,700 Indians have registered with the Indian mission for getting exit permits as they have no valid passports or other travel documents.
Furthermore, he said that he is leaving on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia to meet his counterpart along with other dignitaries and discuss various bilateral matters including problems of Indian workers due to the “Nitaqat” policy under which all companies are required to provide 10 per cent of jobs to Saudi youth.
Khurshid was known to have told that the 10 officials sent to the kingdom will help the mission to prepare no objection certificates for the Indian workers, adding it is a burdensome procedure as they are required to get details of the worker from the district authorities, therefore he added that this time, more than 4,000 Indian volunteers are helping the mission to complete formalities, while the mission is working round the clock and has also set up offices in various Saudi cities to facilitate workers to fill up form for the emergency certificates.
The prominent fact remain that the Saudi government has fixed July 6 as the deadline for all foreign illegal workers to leave the country.
Initially, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was known to have sent Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahmed and his advisor T.K.A. Nair to the kingdom to sort out problems of Indians who are there either without work permits or valid passports.
As a concluding factor, on the other hand, the Saudi authorities have guaranteed the Indian government that they will not harass Indian workers because of their good behaviour, at the same time no one will be penalised or sent to jail for violations of these norms if they leave country before the deadline. Likewise, Khurshid said he is also going to take up issue of increase of Haj quota for Indian pilgrims with the Saudi authorities.
Violation of law in any country is a matter of prominent criminal offence and need to be dealt critically before the situation worsens.
Law stands same for all!
Content Source:Khaleej Times
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(AW:Samrat Biswas)
