Devendra Fadnavis
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra FadnavisIANS

If reports are anything to go by, Maharashtra will soon have a detention centre for illegal immigrants in Navi Mumbai. The reports followed the state Home Ministry's move to seek a land parcel from the Navi Mumbai planning authority. 

The move comes a week after the final Assam NRC list was released, which declared 19 lakh people as illegal immigrants. These rumours are making rounds with the members of the Shiv Sena alleging that there are numerous illegal Bangladeshi residents in Maharashtra.

"NRC was needed in Assam to solve the problems of the original inhabitants of the region. That is why we supported the NRC move... want a similar exercise to be held in Mumbai to drive out the Bangladeshis living here," Arvind Sawant, Shiv Sena leader told news agency ANI last week.

The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) of Maharashtra had received a letter requesting a piece of land – two to three acres – in Nerul, in Navi Mumbai, which is situated 20 km away from Mumbai, NDTV reports. 

According to a new rule, which was issued earlier this year by the Indian government, major cities which serve as points for immigration should have detention centres.

The BJP is known for its initiative to send people they deem as aliens back to their countries. In early 2019, while campaigning in Rajasthan, BJP top leader Amit Shah had referred to Bangladesh residents in India as 'termites'.

Later in July, Shah, who became the Home Minister by then, told the Rajya Sabha during one of his addresses that the government will search the entire country to identify and deport illegal immigrants.

BJP's election manifesto also contained the promise to implement the NRC list and they did so in the end of August.

Many other states have also dabbled at the idea of detention centres with BJP leaders in Bihar initiating something similar to the NRC while a detention centre has already been built in Goa.