'BSF, Assam Rifles deployed to stop further infiltration of Rohingyas'

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday informed Lok Sabha that security forces were deployed to stop further infiltration of Rohingyas.

Apprising the Parliament on Rohingyas issue, Rajnath said, "Border Security Force and Assam Rifles are deployed to stop further infiltration of Rohingyas. Have issued an advisory to states to monitor those who have already come and keep them at one place and not let them spread. States also have right to deport them."

On this, Trinamool Congress (TMC)'s Sugata Bose said, "External Affairs Ministry is conducting 'operation insaniyat' for Rohingyas in Bangladesh. There are 40,000 Rohingyas in India, will we show insaniyat for only those who are in Bangladesh? "

Terming Bose's statement "unfortunate", Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju noted that India is the only country to have adopted such a soft approach to refugees.

"This is an unfortunate statement by him(TMC's Sugata Bose). India is probably only country which has adopted such a soft approach to refugees. We also told Myanmar that we are ready to assist them in providing facilities to Rohingyas when they return," he said.

Last month, the Central Government had circulated a letter to all the state governments including Jammu and Kashmir asking them to take necessary steps to prevent the entry of illegal migrants such as Rohingyas from Myanmar.

During her recent visit to India, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had also spoken about the Rohingya issue and said that the New Delhi should play an important role in ensuring the safe repatriation of the Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar.

Rohingyas are a Muslim minority ethnic group in Myanmar and are considered to be illegal immigrants.

Scores of Rohingya refugees are languishing in Indian refugee camps, after fleeing a brutal Myanmar army campaign launched in August last year.

They are residing in several parts of the country including Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR, and Rajasthan.