By Supriya Bhardwaj (India Today)
The Lok Sabha witnessed a heated war of words between
Opposition and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the issue of Rohingya issue
during the Question Hour. The central government in the Lok Sabha today stated
that there are reports about some Rohingya migrants indulging in illegal
activities.
The matter of Rohingya refugees was raised in the lower
house by Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant and claimed that the Rohingya refugees are
getting voting rights.
Sawant asked in the house, "Some of them are even
having Aadhaar cards. Want to ask about the number of Rohingyas and other
migrants from Myanmar as illegal migrants in India? And also so far how many of
them have been deported from India."
What followed was a heated debate in the house wherein
the TMC, Congress and Left parties also joined in to ask questions from the
Central government.
It was Minister of State (Home) Kiren Rijiju who took the
charge to represent the government.
The union minister said, "Since these illegal
immigrants enter into the country without valid travel documents in and surreptitious
manner, there is no data regarding number of such migrants living in the
country. However, maximum numbers of Rohingyas are in Jammu &
Kashmir."
From the Opposition side, it was TMC MP Sugata Bose, who
led the charge, and said, "It is unfortunate that India is deporting
Rohingya when we as a country are known for humanity. Will we export 'insaaniyat'
(humanity) to Bangladesh? On one hand the Indian government is helping Rohingya
in Cox Bazaar, Bangladesh which is providing shelter to over nine lakh refugee.
We are sheltering only 40,000 Rohingya and we want to deport them?"
On this Kiren Rijiju replied, "Our priority is to
protect our citizens’ firsts. India is already soft on refugees. We are ready
to help Rohingyas deported from India to resettle in Myanmar. India is
providing shelter to millions of refugees."
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, said, "We cannot
become beasts and inhumane, when humanitarian morality is concerned we cannot
throw these Rohingyas."
Meanwhile, giving further details Rijiju said that the
government has issued instructions to state governments and union territory
administration to take steps for identification of illegal migrants including
Rohingya; their restrictions to specified location as per provision of law; capturing
their biography and bio metric particular and cancellation of fake Indian
documents in their possession.
Government has taken up the issue of Rohingya migrants
with the Myanmar government. It has been emphasized that the need for safe,
speedy and sustainable return of these displaced persons said Rijiju.
Detection and deportation of illegal migrants is a
continuous process. Central government under Foreigners Act; is vested with
power to deport nationals staying illegally in the country. These powers to identify
detail and deport the illegally staying nationals including Rohingya migrants
have also been delegated to the state government, union territories and Bureau
of immigration, he said.