The Cabinet today at the meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi gave its approval for signing a treaty on transfer of sentenced persons between India and Nigeria.
Signing of the treaty shall facilitate Indian prisoners imprisoned in Nigeria or vice-versa to be near their families, for serving the remaining part of their sentence and shall facilitate their social rehabilitation.
The Government of India has so far signed Agreements with the Governments of the United Kingdom, Mauritius, Bulgaria, Brazil, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Bangladesh, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Maldives, Thailand, Turkey, Italy, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Israel, Russia and Vietnam. Negotiations have also been concluded with the Governments of Canada, Hong Kong, Australia and Spain.
Background:
Prior to 2004, there was no domestic legislation under which foreign prisoners could be transferred to the country of their origin, to serve the remaining part of their sentence, nor was there a provision for the transfer of prisoners of Indian origin convicted by a foreign court to serve their sentence in India.
Hence the Repatriation of Prisoners Act, 2003 (hereinafter referred as Act) was enacted for serving this purpose. For achieving the objectives of the Act, a treaty/agreement is required to be signed with countries having mutual interest with India and later to be notified in the Official Gazette.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has strongly condemned the incident involving disrespect towards Rashtrapati Ji and the casual treatment of Santal culture by the Government of West Bengal.
The Prime Minister said that the development was shameful and unprecedented and that everyone who believes in democracy and the empowerment of tribal communities is deeply disheartened by the incident.
The Prime Minister said that the pain and anguish expressed by Rashtrapati Ji, who herself hails from a tribal community, has caused immense sadness in the minds of the people of India.
Shri Modi stated that the TMC Government of West Bengal has crossed all limits and that their administration is responsible for this insult to the President.
The Prime Minister further said that it is equally unfortunate that a subject as important as Santal culture is being treated so casually by the West Bengal Government.
Emphasising that the office of the President is above politics, the Prime Minister said that the sanctity of this office should always be respected. He expressed hope that better sense will prevail among the West Bengal Government and the TMC.
The Prime Minister wrote on X;
“This is shameful and unprecedented. Everyone who believes in democracy and the empowerment of tribal communities is disheartened.
The pain and anguish expressed by Rashtrapati Ji, who herself hails from a tribal community, has caused immense sadness in the minds of the people of India.
The TMC Government of West Bengal has truly crossed all limits. Their administration is responsible for this insult to the President.
It is equally unfortunate that a subject as important as Santal culture is treated so casually by the West Bengal Government.
The office of the President is above politics and the sanctity of this office should always be respected. One hopes better sense prevails among the West Bengal Government and TMC.”
This is shameful and unprecedented. Everyone who believes in democracy and the empowerment of tribal communities is disheartened.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 7, 2026
The pain and anguish expressed by Rashtrapati Ji, who herself hails from a tribal community, has caused immense sadness in the minds of the people… https://t.co/XGzwMCMFrT
এটি লজ্জাজনক এবং অভুতপূর্ব। গণতন্ত্র এবং জনজাতি সম্প্রদায়ের ক্ষমতায়নে বিশ্বাসী মানুষজন সকলেই মর্মাহত।
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 7, 2026
জনজাতি সম্প্রদায় থেকেই উঠে আসা রাষ্ট্রপতি মহোদয়ার প্রকাশিত বেদনা ও উদ্বেগ ভারতের মানুষের মনে গভীর দুঃখের সঞ্চার করেছে।
পশ্চিমবঙ্গের তৃণমূল কংগ্রেস সরকার সত্যিই সমস্ত সীমা… https://t.co/XGzwMCMFrT


