Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that Rohingya Muslims living in India are illegal immigrants from Myanmar and not refugees. He added that objections to deport illegal immigrants stand no ground as Myanmar is willing to take them back.
Singh said that the Rohingya Muslims are neither refugees nor have they taken asylum or shelter in India. The Centre had stated that it would deport nearly 40,000 Rohingya Muslims from India, a decision which invited international backlash. The United Nations had also expressed concern over India's move to deport Rohingyas.
"The Rohingyas are not refugees. They have not come here after following proper procedures. No Rohingya has applied for asylum. They are illegal immigrants," he said while addressing a seminar organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
Singh added that India is not violating any international law by deporting Rohingyas since the country is not a signatory to the UN Refugees Convention 1951.
The NHRC had recently issued a notice to the government over its decision to deport Rohingya Muslims residing in different parts of India. The commission had justified its "intervention" as appropriate, considering that it involved a human rights problem.
The Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday that it was ready to share with the judges the confidential information by intelligence agencies, which suggested that the Rohingyas have links with militants based in Pakistan.
The apex court is considering an appeal against the Centre's decision to deport Rohingyas. The appeal has been filed in the SC on behalf of Rohingya Muslims who have been denied citizenship in Myanmar and are treated as illegal immigrants despite claims that the community has been residing in the country since centuries.
The Home Ministry submitted the details in writing before the court, arguing that the illegal immigrants posed a major security threat. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar. Many have entered India as well.
The ministry added that the illegal immigrants began crossing over to India about four to five years ago even before the recent exodus in August this year, when over 4 lakh Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh to escape a counter-insurgency offensive launched by the Myanmar military. The UN has described this offensive as "ethnic cleansing".
The ministry also told the apex court that the information received by it suggests that Rohingyas are involved with the Islamic State and other "extremist groups" to incite communal and sectarian violence in India.
Mukesh Mittal, a senior official from the Home Ministry, said that the Centre would confidentially show to the SC all the information collected from "sensitive investigations" to support their claims in the affidavit.
The court will hear the matter on October 3.
