Pak should take away Rohingyas: Union Minister Giriraj Singh

Team Udayavani, Sep 19, 2017, 5:00 PM IST

New Delhi :  Union Minister Giriraj Singh, known for his controversial remarks, today said Pakistan should “take away” Rohingyas as Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar “is fond of them”.

Referring to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir and the continuing infiltration attempts from across the border, Singh said that India does not have the capacity to bear more “infiltrators”, therefore the Rohingya Muslims will have to leave.

The minister reiterated the government’s stand that Rohingyas are illegal migrants who pose a threat to India’s internal security. Humanity is not above the law, Singh said, in remarks that come in the backdrop of criticism of the government decision to deport the Rohingyas, who have fled the violence- hit Rakhine state of Myanmar.

“It will be better that Pakistan takes away Rohingya Muslims if Masood Azhar is so fond of them,” he said referring to the chief of Pakistan-based militant outfit JeM. “There are some politicians in India as well who are standing in support of Rohingyas.

“They should also be told to send them (Rohingyas) to Pakistan. If Pakistan’s terrorist leader (Azhar) backed by its government is saying this, then the Pakistani government should take them (Rohingyas) away,” Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a summit organised by the CII here.

The government had told Parliament on August 9 that more than 14,000 Rohingyas are at present staying in India. However, some inputs indicate that around 40,000 undocumented Rohingyas were staying in India, mostly in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan regions.

Singh had earlier triggered a row with his statement that “those trying to stop Narendra Modi from coming to power have no place in India and should go to Pakistan”. Addressing the summit today, the minister for micro, small and medium enterprises said the government established agro technology clusters as part of a new scheme to tackle the food security challenges posed by a growing population.