Deport Rohingyas, Bangladeshis as they are 'most vulnerable' to COVID-19 spread: J&K BJP

The Jammu and Kashmir BJP on Monday urged the central government to take immediate steps for the deportation of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis as they are "most vulnerable" to the spread of coronavirus.

Senior BJP leader Kavinder Gupta said, "As Rohingyas and Bangladeshis are mainly associated with the Rehri and hawking business, there is every likelihood of their spreading the virus to the localities they visit to sell their products."

"The central government should take immediate steps for the deportation of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis, who are illegally settled in Jammu, as they are most vulnerable to the spread of the deadly coronavirus," he added.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the central government should forthwith work out for deporting illegally settled Rohingyas and Bangladeshis from Jammu and Kashmir "to save local residents", Gupta said.

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"The demographic and security threat posed by them has reached a boiling point as these people are most vulnerable to the spread of coronavirus, many of these Rohingyas are associated with the Rehri and hawking business," he asserted.

Gupta alleged that there is a well-funded and politically-backed conspiracy to settle them across the province and trigger Hindu migration.

"In November 2017, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees visited at least five Rohingya habitations in Jammu and asked them to leave, promising funds to settle elsewhere. They refused, saying they won't leave as they are used to Jammu and know everyone over here.

"That, in a nutshell, sums up their comfort levels in Hindu-majority Jammu, as opposed to living with their co-religionists elsewhere," the BJP leader said.

"Groups advocating accommodation of Rohingyas in India fail to consider the burden they are bound to put on the country's strained national resources, including the overall socio-economic indicators such as public health, employment, crime, rehabilitation of internally displaced. Jammu and Kashmir should learn lessons from illegal migration into Assam from Bangladesh," he said.

He said that the influx of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants into Assam is posing a "serious security threat" to the Assamese identity.

"It has adversely affected the social, economic and political environment of the state, creating law and order problems, particularly in areas where immigrants are present in large numbers," Gupta added.

Keeping in mind the critical geography of the state and its sensitive communal environment, it is necessary that New Delhi treads carefully and explores all the alternatives before arriving at any long-term solution to the issue, Gupta added.