NEW DELHI, July 30
Illegal immigration by Rohingya is a major security threat and the Central Government wants to push them back, an official of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in Tripura on Monday at its first Videsh Sampark event held in collaboration with the state government.
At the event, state and central officials discussed a wide range of issues relating to passport services, opportunities and challenges in trade and investments and emigration, among others.
Speaking at the event, Ankan Banerjee, a joint secretary in the ministry, termed infiltration by the Rohingya people into Tripura and the rest of the Northeast as a security threat. “We want to push the Rohingya back. It is a very serious issue. They are in Haryana and Jammu and large numbers in Hyderabad. They are stateless people, very poor people. They are also security threats,” he said.
“The Central Government is trying to prevent infiltration. This is a constant endeavour. We have our security forces and the BSF. We are trying to stop it but it is a large border. It is not typical of only India and Bangladesh. It is even there in Mexico and the United States. It is true of wherever there is income disparity. Although the government authorities try their level best to stop this kind of infiltration, we can only try to strengthen it further,” he said.
Asked about the recent spurt in infiltration, P K Chakravarty, secretary in the home department, said the state government and the Border Security Force had already discussed the issue.
Earlier, Chakravarty talked about Videsh Sampark, “The main objective of the programme is to connect with the state government about the MEA’s programme and schemes, migration and mobility, trade and investment opportunity. We are also discussing the state-specific issues that we face from time to time.”
For his part, Banerjee said, “We are trying to bring the state and central governments in one platform through this programme. The main target of the programme is dispensation of government services optimally.”
Banerjee also said he got a suggestion during the meeting to create a digital platform for exchanging information on prisoners in foreign countries.
He said that the problem of labour issues in foreign countries could be solved through effective coordination between state and central governments.
An official said, “This meeting is important because Tripura is a border state. It shares an 856-km-long border with Bangladesh. Recently, we have seen that a large number of students from Bangladesh have crossed over to Tripura following the turmoil there.” The official also said that Videsh Sampark could be helpful for the Indian diaspora belonging to Tripura.
