Mangaluru, DHNS: Seek MEA?help to get Kuwait drop their names from black list. Members of Navachethana Welfare Association, Kuwait, who were deported to India for conducting Satyanarayana pooja in that country, have urged the External Affairs Ministry to get their names removed from the black list.
Briefing mediapersons here on Monday, Purushotham Kukyan, one of the 11 persons who were deported, said the Association had conducted the pooja on October 16. A total of 150 members had taken part in the rituals.
“As performing pooja rituals is not permitted in public places in that country, we performed it in the basement of an apartment within the four walls and behind closed doors. We had performed similar rituals in 2011.”
“After 10 days of the pooja - on October 26 - Association member Yadav Poojary was called by his company’s Human Resources department and was sent away with the police. Over the next few days, 10 persons who had various responsibilities in the association were arrested,” he said.
“The police have failed to give us the reason for the arrest. When this was informed to the Indian embassy, there was no positive response. Later, a social activist there contacted the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). As per the ministry’s direction, the embassy officials took up the case seriously. With the efforts of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and Minister Ananth Kumar, we were deported,” said Kukyan.
“We have not committed any crime. Yet, we were deported to India. As a result, we cannot go back to Kuwait and work in the firm where we were employed. We have doubts about the agency that conducted the probe. The MEA should take initiative to get the deportation suspended and get our names removed from the blacklist.”
On November 29, Association former secretary Santhosh Rai and president Ashok Salian spoke to Swaraj and Ananth Kumar. Swaraj has promised to get the names removed from blacklist, so that we can return to Kuwait and work again.
The members appealed to the government to help get their service benefits from the company and convince the Kuwaiti government to remove charges against them. “The charges were levelled by unknown persons without reason. The government should help us get visa to return to Kuwait,” they said.
