Rohingyas are intruders, not refugees, says Yogi Adityanath

UP CM Yogi Adityanath on Friday said that the Rohingyas in India were intruders and not refugees.

Lucknow, Sep 30: At a time when several international organisations, including the United Nations (UN), have opposed the Narendra Modi government's plan to deport 40,000 "illegal Rohingya Muslim immigrants" from India, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said the Rohingyas in India were intruders, not refugees.

Talking to news agency ANI, Adityanath said, "It's sad that some people are showing concern towards them as in Myanmar, many innocent Hindus were killed brutally. It was also found that they have links with terrorist organisations."

He added that the Indian government had made its stand clear on the Rohingyas.

The Centre recently filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court about its plan to deport the "illegal Rohingya immigrants" as they pose "security threat to the country".

Thereafter, the apex court received one more petition favouring the Centre's stand to identify and deport around 40,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar staying in various parts of the country.

The latest plea against the illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis in the Supreme Court was filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who is also a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader.

Meanwhile, Rohingya immigrants Mohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqir, who had filed a PIL in the apex court, claimed they had taken refuge in India after escaping from Myanmar due to widespread discrimination, violence and bloodshed against the community there.

They have recently filed their rejoinder affidavit responding to Centre's affidavit that some of the refugees have links with Pakistan's ISI and terror organisation ISIS and they may pose serious threat to national security.

"The government cannot make a blanket claim that all Rohingya refugees have terror links and there being a fear of them being radicalised by terror recruits operating in India.

"This ground is unsustainable against a whole class of largely destitute Rohingyas who have fled their country over the last few years fearing for their lives, as military operations against the Rohingyas in Myanmar have escalated by the day and there has been a mass exodus of about 400,000 Rohingyas from Rakhine province in Myanmar which is the epicentre of the ethnic conflict," the two Rohingyas said.

The Supreme Court will take up the matter again on October 3.

The latest figure released by the UN in terms of the number of Rohingyas escaping violence-hit Myanmar and taking shelter in Bangladesh has gone up to more than 500,000 lakh.

The number of Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh since violence broke out in Myanmar's Rakhine state on August 25 has exceeded half a million, the UN said on Thursday.

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