New Delhi: The Centre has decided to file its affidavit on the issue of deportation of illegal Rohingya Muslim immigrants in the Supreme Court on Monday. This was confirmed by home minister Rajnath Singh. Talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of an event in the capital on Friday, Mr Singh said, “We will file the affidavit in Supreme Court on September 18.’’
The affidavit has to be filed following a Supreme Court directive in response to a petition filed by two Rohingya immigrants, Mohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqir, claiming that they had taken refuge in India following persecution against their community in Myanmar. The duo also stated that they were registered as refugees under the United Nations High Commission of Refugees (UNHCR) and have challenged any possible move to deport them on the grounds that it violated international human rights conventions and some other issues.
The issue of illegal Rohingya Muslim immigrants has become hugely contentious as the home ministry has already stated that they were a potential security risk as they were more vulnerable to getting roped in by terror outfits. The ministry has also asked the state governments to identity such illegal immigrants and initiate deportation process.
The state governments have also been directed to set up a special task force which would identify illegal immigrants. According to home ministry officials there were nearly 40,000 Rohingya Muslims staying illegally in the country.
The move has also already been criticised by the UN Human Rights Chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein. Earlier, minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju had said that while India had absorbed maximum number of refugees anywhere in the world, attempts were being made to demonise India. Mr Rijiju had also clarified that India would follow due process of laws on deportation rather than throwing the illegal migrants into an “ocean or shoot them down.’’
Meanwhile, on Thursday Centre had withdrawn an affidavit on the same issue which was presented in the Supreme Court on the grounds that it had not yet been finalised and was served inadvertently.
According to the draft affidavit, the Centre had asked asked the apex court to refrain from interfering on the policy decision to deport Rohingyas.
Muslims claiming that the decision had been taken on basis of objective material before it.
The draft also mentioned the deportation decision was taken in wake of increasing threat from terror groups like ISIS who want to carry out subversive activities, including flaring up communal tension in sensitive parts across the country. According to the document possibility of Rohingya militancy could have a severe impact of fragile security scenario in the North-East and destabilise the region.
