In smart city Jammu contractors engaged by the BJP- ruled, Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) are turning out to be one of the biggest “job providers” (on temporary basis) for Rohingyas, illegal immigrants from Myanmar.
According to Rinku Gill, President of the Safai Karamchari Union, Jammu Municipal Corporation, “an estimated number of around 200 Rohingyas have been engaged by the contractors to clean big and small drains across the municipal limits of Jammu city”.
In return for their day-long labour, these illegal immigrants are paid `400 per head to run their kitchen fires.
In contrast to this, local sanitation workers/sweepers engaged by the contractors of Jammu Municipal Corporation are paid a paltry sum of `225 per head. The glaring disparity is already causing lot of friction among the work force.
Not only this, JMC contractors have also deployed a fleet of transport vehicles on ground zero to ferry these workers at work in time. Before heading to work, these workers mark their attendance in the office of local JMC
supervisor.
Ironically, local State BJP leaders and even the top brass of the ruling party in centre never shy away from making loud statements claiming they remain committed to identify and deport Rohingyas to their country as per the international law.
Most recently, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has said that Rohingyas living in Jammu & Kashmir will be deported since they do not benefit under the Citizenship Amendment Act enacted by the Centre in November last year. He also added that the Rohingyas will not be able to secure citizenship by “any means”.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a three-day workshop on General Financial rules in Jammu on January 3, Singh said there were “no ifs and buts” over CAA’s implementation in the Union Territory.
“Its immediate implication would be in relation to Rohingyas here. We have a sizeable population of Rohingyas here. They have to go,” Singh said.
In the last one year,Union Home Minister Amit Shah has repeatedly made these statements at election rallies and also clarified stand of the Union Government on the floor of the house inside Parliament. Responding to the question in the Rajya Sabha on July 17, 2019, Amit Shah said that it was the NRC based on which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
“It is a very good question. The NRC is part of the Assam Accord and was also in (BJP's) election manifesto based on which the Government has come to power. The Government will identify illegal immigrants living on every inch of the country's soil and will deport them as per the international law,” Amit Shah said.
Referring to the statements of Union leaders, Rinku Gill maintained on one hand the government says, these Rohingyas pose a security threat and on the other hand they have been roped in by the JMC ignoring local work force”. He demanded local workers should be engaged first and provided with the opportunity to earn their livelihood than these illegal immigrants.
When contacted, Mayor of Jammu Municipal Corporation Chander Mohan Gupta said, “after the passage of Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Parliament, the entire country is witnessing chaos. The way union government remain committed to deport Rohingyas and all other illegal immigrants, we are also going to deport them from
Jammu”.
JMC, Mayor also claimed we have not engaged any Rohingya as daily wager to carry out works. We check credentials of workers and even NGO's engaged by JMC keep record of their workforce.According to a Home department report tabled in the state assembly on February 2, 2018, “a total number of 6523 Rohingyas were found camping across 39 different locations spread across five districts of Jammu and Kashmir”.
According to the Home department report, “6461 Rohingyas were staying in Jammu division and 62 in Kashmir division.
However, local activists and politicians, spearheading a campaign in support of their deportation often contest these figures claiming large number of these illegal immigrants are scattered and even their bio metrics have not been collected by the security
personnel