Rubbishing reports about Indian security forces pushing back Rohingya Muslim refugees at the borders using chilli and stun grenades, the Centre in its latest affidavit to the Supreme Court has said that any order to allow them in will not be in national interest.
Citing the porous border situation of the country that posed the threat of terrorism by infiltrators, the Centre argued that securing the borders was an executive function in which courts should not interfere. The matter is expected to be heard by the apex court on Monday.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, had allowed Centre to respond to an application moved by a group of Rohingya Muslim refugees already in the country who claimed that the rest of their ilk facing religious persecution in Myanmar were being denied entry from the Indo-Myanmar border. Advocate Prashant Bhushan who argued on the application demanded the Centre to consider Rohingya Muslims at par with Sri lankan Tamils.
The Centre'a affidavit dismissed the allegations against BSF using chilli and stun grenades as "false" denying use of any such devices. The Government even denied reports of medical and educational facilities being refused to Rohingya Muslims present in the country.
As far as issuing them identity certificates was concerned, the Centre said, "India being not a signatory to UN Convention of 1951 on the Status of Refugees and the Protocol of 1967 and there being no law passed by the Parliament with regard to refugees, there cannot be any issuance of refugees identification card to any person."
The affidavit also spelt out the reason why Rohingyas cannot be treated at par with lankan Tamil refugees. It said, "Under the Indo-Sri lanka Agreements of 1964 and 1974, the Government of India had agreed to repatriate and grant Indian citizenship to six lakh persons of Indian origin together with their natural increase by 1981-82." By this bilateral agreement, Sri lanka had agreed to grant Sri lankan citizenship to 94000 persons out of the six lakh persons to be granted Indian citizenship as per the the above two Agreements.