Government to address citizenship issue of refugees

Home Minister Rajnath Singh Wednesday said the government is committed to settling citizenship and long-term visa issues of Sindhi and Bengali communities from neighbouring countries, who have taken refuge in India.

"The home ministry is committed to addressing issues faced by them (Sindhi and Bengali communities) and has already constituted a task force headed by JS (joint secretary), foreigners division, to look into such issues," a statement from the home ministry quoted Singh as saying.

Singh added that the task force will monitor and expedite processing of citizenship and long-term visa (LTV) applications from these minorities from neighbouring countries.

"Singh informed the minister of surface transport and highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari that the cases having complete documents will be processed within two months by the task force, which had been constituted on Sep 5," the statement added.

The task force will soon be visiting Lucknow, Nagpur and other cities where such migrants live in large numbers.

"This decision is expected to facilitate the minorities from neighbouring countries who want to stay back in India for fear of religious persecution back home," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, a delegation of Sindhi and Bengali communities accompanied by Gadkari met Singh and submitted a memorandum to highlight their plight on visa and citizenship-related issues.