Raising the issue in Rajya Sabha, she said Swaraj, who also looks after the Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry, had said in reply to a question that 5,986 Indians are reported to be lodged in jails abroad.
Soni said during Zero Hour that either a glaring omission was made or facts about people languishing in Iraq jails were deliberately kept out.
"Unfortunately, the name of Iraq has not been mentioned. The Minister for External Affairs did not mention that six Indians are languishing in jails in Iraq for last two and half years," she said, wondering why "no contact" was made with them.
Soni said while Swaraj had stated in Parliament that all the 41 Indians languishing in captivity in Iraq were safe and alive, a newspaper has reported to the contrary and wondered why the government did not contradict it.
Drawing the attention of the House towards the plight of a group of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees on way to Australia stranded in the sea, D Raja (CPI) said India should act in a humanitarian manner and provide shelter to them.