Chandigarh, Feb 7 (PTI): Haryana Minister Anil Vij on Thursday said US President Donald Trump has not made any mistake in deporting illegal immigrants and asserted that a country has every right to expel those who enter its territory illegally.

His remark came after 104 illegal Indian immigrants from various states were deported in a US military aircraft that landed at the Amritsar airport on Wednesday.

This was the first such batch of Indians deported by the Trump government as part of a crackdown it resolved to carry out when it was sworn in last month.

"If a person goes to another country illegally, then that nation has every right to expel them. And Trump did not make any mistake," said Vij in response to Punjab's NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal's appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak with the US president regarding deportation.

"I say take a cue from it. Lakhs of people are illegal in this country... They were born somewhere else, but we feed them. They should be sent back to their respective countries," he said.

Of the 104 deportees who arrived at the Amritsar airport on Wednesday, 33 each were from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh.

Punjab minister Dhaliwal on Wednesday sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to speak to his "friend" US President Trump regarding the deportation of Indians.

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Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.

In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.

Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.

Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.

According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.

He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.

He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.

Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.

He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.

Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.

He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.