150 Indian international students in New Zealand are facing deportation due to fraud in their student visa applications. While the students maintain they had no knowledge of the fraud committed by their India-based agents, the issue has taken centre stage in country’s political circles.
Now Migrant Workers Association spokeswoman Anu Kaloti has claimed that National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi likened the students facing deportation to faulty fridges from China during a radio interview.
Ms Kaloti said the Indian-origin MP said ‘if New Zealand imports fridges from China, for example, and those fridges are faulty, New Zealand sends them back to China’.
Mr. Bakshi has denied he used the analogy for Indian students. He said he was referring to training institutions under investigation. He said his comments had been misinterpreted.
However, Ms. Kaloti said the comparison was made on being specifically asked about the students facing deportation.
She said the MP meant it was fair to deport the students because they were ultimately responsible for their documents. When he was challenged by the host, he made used the faulty fridge analogy.
The Indian students held a protest demonstration in Auckland on Monday evening, about 50 of them demanding amnesty from the New Zealand government.
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