‘Forces sensitised to stop Rohingya from entering’

The Centre Tuesday said the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Assam Rifles have been sensitised to ensure that members of the Rohingya Muslim community do not enter the country while states have been asked to enumerate and confine those who have entered illegally.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour that his ministry had issued an advisory to the states on Rohingya in February.

“The BSF and the Assam Rifles have been fully sensitised to ensure that Rohingyas are not able to enter,” Singh replied to a query by a Shiv Sena member.

Singh said Rohingyas have entered the country though in “large numbers”. “It should not happen that the Rohingyas spread out and stay wherever they want,” he said, adding that the states have been advised to prepare their “biography” (profiles) and take biometrics.

“The advisory also says that their movement should also be monitored and the states should be fully alert,” the minister said.

He noted that the state governments have the right to deportat people under the Foreigners Act.

“We have requested the state governments that after identification and enumeration of the Rohingyas, they should send the information to the central government.

NEW DELHI:

Once we get this information, we will share it with the external affairs ministry. The ministry will talk to the Myanmar authorities and try to deport them,” the minister said.

Before Singh, minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju told Parliament that Rohingyas were “illegal migrants” and there was no question that the government was going to give them any facilities. “We will first take care of Indian citizens, of their rights. We are not here to take care of illegal migrants,” Rijiju said.

He also said that Jammu and Kashmir has the largest number of Rohingyas, followed by Hyderabad. Rohingyas are also present in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and

some other places, he said.

“We have taken firm steps that they do not become a threat to the country’s security and a burden.”

Referring to the issue of ration cards, Rijiju said the government has not allowed the move and asked every state to ensure that the Rohingyas are not able to obtain any legal document.

Trinamool Congress member Sugata Bose said he was saddened by the minister’s reply, and noted that India has 40,000 Rohingya refugees while there were over 9 lakh in Bagladesh.

The minister responded that India has a tradition of receiving persecuted people but that does not mean that “we cannot regulate our system”.