Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday slammed attempts to brand India as a "villain" on the Rohingya refugee issue, saying it was a "calibrated design" to tarnish the country's image. Rijiju's comments came two days after UN human Rights Chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein flayed any attempts by India to deport Rohingyas to Myanmar.
Rijiju reiterated that Rohingyas have entered illegally and the Government will deport them."This chorus of branding India as villain on Rohingya issue is a calibrated design to tarnish India's image," he said in a tweet.
It is learned that the Wednesday's high-level meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh also reviewed the Rohingyas illegal infiltration and deportation related issues. The Government told Parliament on August 9 that according to available data, more than 14,000 Rohingyas, registered with the UNHCR, are presently staying in India.
However, some inputs indicate that around 40,000 Rohingyas are staying in India illegally and the Rohingyas are largely located in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.