New Delhi: Rohingyas are a threat to national security. They have links with terror groups and are likely to be used by the Islamic State, the Central government told the Supreme Court on Thursday. In its affidavit in response to petitions seeking to stop deportation of 40,000 Rohingyas, the Centre said “national interest warrants their deportation” and the court should not “interfere” in the proceedings. There are intelligence inputs that some Rohingyas are linked with terror groups, which are very active in Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mewat, it said. The government has made it clear that it is against Rohingya Muslims staying as illegal refugees in India.
“If they stay here permanently, who will protect the citizens?” the government asked. It said in August, the home ministry wrote to state governments, urging them to identify illegally staying Rohingyas and deport them. Detection and deportation of such illegal immigrants from Myanmar’s violence-hit Rakhine state is a continuous process, the Centre said. “Therefore, it is essential to identify them and keep a watch on their activities for preventing any untoward incident that can take place.”
The government’s stand has been that infiltration of Rohingyas from Rakhine into Indian Territory, especially in recent years, besides being a burden on the limited resources of the country, also aggravates security challenges posed to India. It said that undisputedly India is among nations worst affected by Islamic terrorism. It has its serious demographic challenges. Thousands of Rohingya refugees, most of them settled in J&K, where already Islamist separatism is raging, are a people ripe for terror hiring and indoctrination. It said Rohingyas couldn’t claim protection under Article 21 of the Constitution to settle as residents of India and the Union Government has unrestrictive power to expel or deport Rohingyas.
