The latest confusion over the Rohingya affidavit to some extent shows the shifting stance of the government vis a vis the situation in Myanmar.
The Centre has trashed reports that an affidavit has been filed by the government in the Supreme Court calling the Rohingya Muslims a 'national threat'.
“Not filed any affidavit yet on Rohingyas,” Union Minister Kiren Rijiju was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI.
It should be noted that WION had earlier reported about the fact that the Ministry of Home Affairs had said no such affidavit had been filed before the apex court and that the matter was “under consideration”.
“The official position of the MHA is that no such affidavit has been filed before the SC. Filing of the affidavit is still under consideration,” an official in the MHA told WION.
This position taken by the ministry is set to create a flutter given the reports that emanated from the Supreme Court earlier on Thursday that Rohingya Muslims were a serious threat to national security and were vulnerable to be exploited for terrorist activities by ISIS.
Reports from the top court also stated that the Centre had told the apex court that Rohingyas must be deported in the larger national interest.
India has been facing some degree of criticism from the international community over it's decision to deport 40,000 Rohingyas migrants illegally staying in various Indian cities. This latest episode on whether an affidavit was filed before the Supreme Court or not is only going to fuel the controversy.
Only days ago, the Human Rights Commissioner at the United Nations had “deplored” Indian government’s decision to deport approximately 40,000 Myanmarese Rohingya refugees.
“India cannot carry out collective expulsions, or return people to a place where they risk torture or other serious violations,” the UN Human Rights body had said.
Sharply reacting to this, India's Ambassador Rajiv K Chander, who is the Permanent Representative of India to the UN in Geneva had said that India was perplexed at “some of the observations made by the High Commissioner in his oral update”.
“There appears to be inadequate appreciation of the freedoms and rights that are guaranteed and practised daily in a vibrant democracy that has been built under challenging conditions. Tendentious judgements made on the basis of selective and even inaccurate reports do not further the understanding of human rights in any society,” Chander had said.
“Like many other nations, India is concerned about illegal migrants, in particular, with the possibility that they could pose security challenges. Enforcing the laws should not be mistaken for lack of compassion,” Chander had further stated.
The Indian Permanent Representative to the UN also stated that “it is also surprising that individual incidents are being extrapolated to suggest a broader societal situation” and that “India is proud of its independent judiciary, freedom of press, vibrant civil society and respect for rule of law and human rights.
“A more informed view would have not only recognized this but also noted, for example, that the Prime Minister himself publicly condemned violence in the name of cow protection. India does not condone any actions in violation of law and imputations to the contrary are not justified,” Chander had stated.
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