CNN News18's Marya Shakil speaks to Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh about the families in Punjab who have been waiting for around four months for the mortal remains of their loved ones who died in Saudi Arabia.
CNN News18: I have been travelling across Punjab, have been to several districts. The sense one gets after speaking to these families that we spoke to in the last 2 days, is that they have knocked at all possible doors perhaps to get the bodies of their loved ones who died under various circumstances in Saudi Arabia or UAE but the politicians have failed them.
Captain Amarinder Singh: Call over the middle east is happening and its failed them in the sense that Punjab is going down the drain, there are no jobs for them. And these poor boys have to reach out to other countries to go and find jobs. The way they have been treated in Saudi or UAE or Iraq or Iran or wherever they have been is absolutely tragic. And if the government of India can reach out to bring in families who are stuck in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, why not the dead bodies. The least the government of India can do is to bring the bodies back home and give it to their parents for last rites.
CNN News18: Do you think the situation has worsened in the last 10 years in particular which has led to mass exodus of these young boys of Punjab?
Captain Amarinder Singh: Absolutely yes it is as things are getting from bad to worse, industries moved out of Punjab. Textile industry moved out to Ahmedabad that has gone to Rajasthan, Bicycle industry all moved out from here to Jharkhand. Everyone's moving out there are no job creations avenue left at all. And this is Why drugs are going up and people who want to make some future for themselves they are moving abroad. And they are going in the ferries carried by these unscrupulous travel agents and many of them just drown and die and you don't even know about them. 2 boys died couple of months ago while crossing and their boat capsized. So this is that they are desperate to find jobs. And when they go and they find jobs and if something happened to them, then the government turns its back.
CNN News18: What can the Congress do necessarily in these circumstances because you have an Akali government here which in a way is not cooperating or helping these families to get bodies of their loved ones back?
Captain Amarinder Singh: Why not. Because the BJP is part of them. And the Akalies are part of BJP in Delhi. Why aren't they able to get these bodies back. Every MLA knows who has died in which village. Then why cant they do something about it? Its just their couldn't careless attitude both in Delhi and Punjab.
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