Telangana State Planning Board vice-chairman B. Vinod Kumar has requested the Ministry of External Affairs to address the problems faced by non-resident Indians (NRIs), particularly Gulf migrants languishing in jails facing criminal charges.
The Union Ministry should take steps to facilitate legal assistance to such migrants besides focusing on addressing issues like non-payment of wages. The State government was concerned about the problems faced by those who had migrated to the Gulf, he said.
Mr. Vinod Kumar made the request to MEA OSD Rajasekhar during a meeting held here on Friday in the presence of Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar. The meeting discussed the opportunity presented by the States division of the MEA, headed by Mr. Rajasekhar, who hails from Nalgonda.
The States Division created at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is mandated to help States and Union Territories be integral partners in the country's international engagement. The meeting, according to an official release, decided to strengthen the helpdesk created by the State government for helping Telangana citizens around the world in real time. The step was aimed at servicing people who were wrongfully confined by extending legal assistance to them if need be through the Indian Community Welfare Fund.
It was accordingly decided to evolve standard operation protocols and database through the missions abroad. Given the fact that Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu were in the forefront of international engagement, it was decided to emulate the best practices of these States. The meeting also resolved to scale up the celebrations of P. V. Narasimha Rao centenary by suitably drafting missions abroad in identified cities.
Establishing e-library to project Telangana's heritage and celebration of Telangana formation day on June 2 in identified key international destinations were among other issues that figured in the discussions.
