Seeking asylum abroad denigrates India: Govt in Rajya Sabha

Minister of state (MoS) for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh on Thursday said that the Government of India believes that asylum seekers, while applying for asylum to a foreign government, denigrate the nation.
“The Government of India believes that asylum seekers, while applying for asylum to a foreign government, denigrate the nation and society to obtain personal gains despite the fact that India, being a democratic country, provides avenues for everyone to redress their grievances lawfully,” Singh said in a response to a question on the subject in Rajya Sabha.
Singh was answering independent Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal’s question about the number of Indians who have sought asylum in foreign countries in the last three years and the current year.
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In response, Singh said that accurate data about the number of asylum applications, grounds for such applications, the actual number of people granted asylum and grounds thereof was not available as the foreign governments concerned cite inability to share such data due to privacy and data protection laws.
Sibal had also asked if there was an 800% increase between 2021 and 2023 in the number of Indians seeking asylum in the US, wherein half of them were from Gujarat.
He also asked about the steps being taken by the Indian government to address the issue of Indians seeking asylum abroad.
Singh, however, did not answer either of the two questions.