Home minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said Rohingyas are not refugees, nor have they taken asylum. They are illegal immigrants.
Addressing a seminar organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Singh asked why some people were objecting to the deportation of Rohingyas when Myanmar was ready to accept them.
Singh said there is a procedure to acquire the refugee status. But none of them followed the procedure.
"Principle of non-refoulement applies on those who have taken asylum in India. No #Rohingya has applied for asylum in India till today," he said.
The home minister added that India won't be violating any international law by deporting Rohingyas from India, as it isn't a signatory to 1951 UN Refugee Convention.
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"People should understand that one aspect of illegal immigration of Rohingyas is related with the national security," said Singh.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, described by the UN as the most persecuted minority in the world, fled their homes in Rakhine state recently to escape a military crackdown. It seemed a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing", UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has said.
Human rights group Amnesty International has blamed Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and the country's government for "burying their heads in the sand over the horrors unfolding in Rakhine State".
The Indian government told Parliament on August 9 that more than 14,000 Rohingyas, registered with the UNHCR, are at present staying in India. However, aid agencies estimate that there are about 40,000 Rohingya Muslims in the country.
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The NHRC recently issued a notice to the Centre over its plan to deport Rohingyas, who are residing in various parts of India.
According to the Commission, from the human rights angle its "intervention is appropriate" in the matter.
(Agencies)
