A fresh petition has been filed in the Supreme Court that favours the Centre’s stand to identify and deport to Myanmar around 40,000 illegal Rohingya Muslims staying in India, PTI reported on Sunday.
The petition, filed by advocate and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, seeks a direction to the Centre and state governments to identify, detain and deport all illegal migrants and infiltrators, including Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingya. “The large-scale illegal migrants, particularly from Myanmar and Bangladesh, have not only threatened the demographic structure of bordering districts but seriously impaired security and national integration,” the plea said.
Upadhyay’s plea alleged there was an organised influx of illegal migrants from Myanmar through agents and touts via West Bengal, Tripura, and Guwahati. “This situation is seriously harming the national security of the country,” the plea said according to PTI.
The plea may be heard along with the PIL filed by two Rohingya Muslim refugees challenging the deportation. It is likely to come up for hearing on October 3.
Mohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqir, in their plea filed through senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan, claimed they had taken refuge in India after escaping discrimination, violence and bloodshed against the community in Myanmar. On September 22, they filed a rejoinder affidavit responding to the Centre’s claim that some of the refugees had links with Pakistan’s ISI and the Islamic State terror organisation. Not a single FIR for endangering national security has been filed against any Rohingya immigrant so far, their affidavit said.
Centre’s deportation plan
In August, the government announced it was planning to deport all 40,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees living in India. Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju had said they were illegal immigrants, even those registered with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. The UN has criticised the decision, which was made even as the Rohingya crisisworsened in Myanmar.
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