CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday protested against the decision to charge what he termed as heavy fee for the services being offered to those expatriates who return from the Gulf countries by availing of the general amnesty announced by the UAE Government.
In a statement issued here, Pinarayi pointed out that it was those people who had been overstaying in the UAE without any relevant documents were using the benefit of the general amnesty. When the general amnesty was offered in 2007, out-pass services were offered by the Indian Embassy and Consulate without charging any fee. Last time, when amnesty was offered, only 20 dirhams were charged for the services. But this time, the expatriate Indians, who seek the services, have to pay 60 dirhams as application fee and 9 dirhams as service charge, Pinarayi said. He said the decision has put thousands of hapless Indians in a predicament. He alleged that the injustice was meted out when lakhs of Dirhams was lying unused in the Indian Community Welfare Fund.
It was the latest instance of the Central Government’s continuing neglect towards the hapless expatriate Indians, Pinarayi said in the statement.