After the Ministry of Home Affairs had clarified that it has not filed any affidavit on deportation of Rohingya refugees in the Supreme Court, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on 15 September said that the affidavit would be submitted on 18 September.
He said that the government would inform the Supreme Court of its stand on Rohingya immigrants on the set date.
The Supreme Court has fixed 17 September for hearing a plea challenging the government's decision to deport illegal Rohingya Muslim immigrants back to Myanmar.
In the draft affidavit, the Centre said there were “contemporaneous inputs” received by it that indicated that some of the unauthorised Rohingya immigrants had links with Pakistan and Bangladesh-based terror organisations.
The Centre also said that it found an organised network of agents facilitating illegal migration of Rohingyas into India.
The continuity of Rohingya immigration and their continued stay in India, apart from being illegal, has serious national security ramification.Centre’s draft
“It has also been found that many Rohingyas figure in the suspected sinister design of the IS (Islamic State)/other extremist groups, who want to achieve their ulterior motives in India, including that of flaring up communal and sectarian violence in the sensitive areas of the country," the Centre's affidavit read.
All Parties Should Be Consulted: Congress
Congress on 15 September said the continuing influx of Rohingya refugees was a “serious” issue, demanding that the government formulate a policy on it keeping national interest in mind and taking all political parties on board.
Congress' senior spokesperson Ajay Maken said the issue has "far-reaching consequences" and the government should invite all parties to formulate a policy on it.
“We consider it a very serious issue and all parties should take a decision in national interest. The government should invite representatives of all parties,” he told reporters.
The Centre, which was supposed to file its response to senior advocate Prashant Bhushan’s PIL against deportation of Rohingya on 11 September, had asked the Supreme Court for more time.
Singh on 13 September said that the community was a security threat, especially to Jammu and Kashmir.
We cannot rule out the possibility of a security threat and I have already cleared our stand with regards to illegal immigrants.Rajnath Singh
India Cannot Trust Rohingya, Says Hansraj Ahir
India cannot trust Rohingyas as they are "illegal migrants" and not Indian nationals, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said on 14 September.
"Let me make it very clear... they are not Indians, they are illegal migrants. We can't trust them," Ahir said while speaking with a news channel.
These people had come in small numbers and the then Indian government sheltered them; but now, the government has decided not to keep them, Ahir said.
"It is not in the nation's interest to keep them here. The government will not yield (to keep Rohingyas) under any pressure," he added.
Ahir said that Rohingyas might have "some links" (with terror outfits), though he did not elaborate if the government has any specific input about Rohingya's links to any specific terror organisation.
About 40,000 Rohingyas have settled in India, and 16,000 of them have received refugee documentation, the United Nation estimated.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju had said on 5 September that the Rohingyas were illegal immigrants and stood to be deported.
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