Northeast States and West Bengal Must Work with BSF to Stop Rohingya Influx: CM Himanta

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today expressed concern over the unabated influx of Rohingya Muslims into India and Assam. In this context, the CM said that Northeastern states and West Bengal should put in concerted efforts to root out this menace.

Addressing a press conference, the Chief Minister said, “Everyday, since the last two months, we are capturing one individual or a group of foreigners in our state. Basically, my feeling is that because of the porous boundary between India and Bangladesh, in spite of the best efforts by the BSF, there are some people who are still coming into our country. The state government has to play a very proactive role. Tripura is identifying a few foreigners, and Assam is also identifying foreigners. But, in spite of our best efforts, such people must be going to various states of the country. We have found many people who go back to Bangladesh to bring in fresh people. We are coordinating with the BSF. Foreigners are being identified by joint operations, sometimes by BSF and sometimes by Assam Police. But it is a coordinated exercise, and in the last two months, we have identified 138 infiltrators, and we have pushed them back.”

“One thing I must say is that contrary to the expectations that Hindus will come inside India because of instability in Bangladesh, we are finding only Rohingya Muslims who are coming into the country. So, I think that, firstly, the perception of infiltration by Hindu Bengalis is wrong; that is what the data says. Secondly, Rohingya Muslims are still trying to enter various states of India. Every state government must remain vigilant, and they must work very closely with the BSF. Assam and Tripura, we are working closely, and we are detecting foreigners. If the West Bengal government also starts detecting people, I think it will be a well-orchestrated and systematic effort. But if we push back the Rohingyas, they can again re-enter through the West Bengal border. Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura, and West Bengal—all state governments must support BSF aggressively. Otherwise, things may deteriorate,” the CM stated.

When the media pointed out a recent incident where a Muslim girl tried to enter India by changing her name into that of a Hindu but was later found to be Muslim, the CM said, “We are least bothered about Hindus and Muslims. Our stand is that if anybody comes from Bangladesh to India illegally, they must be detected and they must be pushed back.”

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