India will be safe if illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis are shot: Hyderabad BJP MLA

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Updated: Jul 31, 2018 16:53 IST

Even as politicians sparred over the Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft list, a BJP legislator from Telangana added to the controversy on Tuesday saying illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants should be shot dead.

“If these Rohingyas and Bangladeshi illegal immigrants do not leave India respectfully, then they should be shot and eliminated. Only then will our country be safe,” BJP MLA from Goshamahal in Hyderabad, Raja Singh, said.

The after-effects of the NRC that leaves out 40 lakh people were felt in Parliament, the day after publication of the controversial document.

Opposition leaders accused the Centre of politicising the issue and rendering people refugees in their own country. The BJP countered this by saying that the 1985 Assam Accord signed by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is the “soul” of NRC.

The NRC is the result of a massive Supreme Court-monitored exercise to identify illegal migrants living in Assam. More than 3 crore residents had applied for inclusion in the draft list of which 20 lakh were rejected.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “Genuine Indians should not be sent out of the country. NRC should not be politicised and used as vote bank. It is a human rights issue, not a Hindu-Muslim issue.”

BJP national president and Rajya Sabha member Amit Shah said the 1985 Assam Accord signed by former PM Rajiv Gandhi is the “soul” of NRC. Attacking the Opposition, he asked, “ Whom do you want to save? You want to save Bangladeshi infiltrators?”

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day due to uproar over the row. The Rohingya migrants issue figured in the Lok Sabha also where the government said they have been involved in illegal activities.

The government also made it clear that Rohingyas do not have the status of “refugees” but are “illegal immigrants”.

Responding to a series of supplementaries, minister of state for Home Kiren Rijiju said the government has reports that some Rohingyas have been involved in illegal activities, but he would refrain from getting into details.

He said since they are illegal immigrants, they are not entitled to any government facility. Rijiju said the priority of the government is to take care of the rights of Indian citizens.

(With ANI inputs)