KOLKATA: Emboldened by the recent central government notification that India would allow minority refugees from Bangladesh and Pakistan to stay in this country even after expiry of their visas, the BJP’s West Bengal unit has decided to facilitate the ‘legal entry’ of Hindus from Bangladesh and identify the Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators for deporting them.
“Earlier, all Bangladeshis, including Hindu and Muslim, were treated as infiltrators. Hindus did not get the refugee status by the UN too. But now, with this notification, we have the legal sanction to save Hindu refugees coming from Bangladesh,” said Mohit Roy, convener of the party’s newly formed ‘Refugee Cell’, which will launch a movement to save Hindu refugees from Bangladesh in bordering districts.
“And we would activate the network of our party men and common people to identify the Muslim infiltrators and pressure the administration to deport them following all legal procedures. We would not allow the ruling party in Bengal to use them as a part of their election machinery,” Roy said. A 10-member committee will supervise the Refugee Cell’s work.
Roy said the Narendra Modi government’s notification issued on September 7 also cleared a confusion that the rulingTrinamool Congress allegedly tried to create over the refuges and infiltrators.
“In an election campaign in 2014, Narendra Modi told people in Bengal that he would not allow the Bangladeshi infiltrators to take over the state and they would be sent back. TMC misinterpreted it for their vested interest and told people that Hindu refugees would too be deported. But now, the question does not arise,” he said. In a statement, the refugee cell said the development brings relief to 5-6 million Hindus of West Bengal. It said the central notification made the difference between the refugees and the infiltrators clear.
“Now it is the task of both central and state governments to identify Bangladeshi infiltrators, that is, illegal Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants, from the state and deport them. The state BJP will help in this effort to drive out millions of Bangladeshi infiltrators,” it said.
“We are yet to analyse the notification. But, we know that the BJP government would try to do several things before election,” TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said.
ET view: Not Just ‘Minorities’
The government’s decision to allow minority refugees to stay in India is worthy of a country growing in global stature . But India needs to also establish itself as a sanctuary for those seeking refuge here irrespective of their religion. To conflate all Muslim Bangladeshis as ‘illegals’ would give grist to the mill that this government is seeing things only through a ‘majority-minority’ filter. The Rohingyas maybe Muslims, but are as persecuted as ‘minority’ refugees. This government can come across as benign as well as smart by opening India’s doors to them and others.