Rohingya crisis: RSS says 'outsiders' shouldn't be allowed to stay, urges Centre to form a policy to deal with refugees

Bhopal: Terming the Rohingya issue as serious, a senior RSS leader said on Saturday that “outsiders” should not be allowed to stay in India beyond a specific period, and suggested that a policy be formed to deal with the refugees. More than a million Rohingya people have left Myanmar to escape the violence following military backlash against the Muslim minority after militants raided police posts on 25 August. Many of the Rohingya refugees have come to India. [caption id=“attachment_4123117” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] “No outsider should have the right to stay in the country after a definite period. This is a serious issue and the country should think deeply before allowing them in,” RSS general secretary (Sarkaryawah) Suresh Bhaiyaji Joshi said. He was talking to reporters in Bhopal on the last day of the three-day meeting of the Akhil Bhartiya Karyakari Mandal, a top decision-making body of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. “It should be pondered why they were expelled from Myanmar. When (the Myanmar government) realised that because of them there is a problem in the country, they expelled them,” said Joshi, who is the second-in-command in the RSS hierarchy. “Earlier too, such people came to our nation and settled in places like Hyderabad and Jammu,” he said. Joshi suggested running a background check on people coming to India in large numbers. “If we don’t check the background of people coming to the country, then that will pose a threat to the nation’s security.” “Those who arrived here (India) secured Aadhaar and PAN cards and got their names included in the voters’ list. They did not come to take refuge… They have come under a conspiracy,” he said. Joshi also wondered why the Rohingya did not go to their neighbouring nations like China and Indonesia. “Taking this into consideration, our country should make a policy for them.” When pointed that some people in India were backing the Rohingya refugees, he said there was a need to find out who these people were and what was their background. On ban on sale of firecrackers On a question on banning of the sale of firecrackers in the national capital region (NCR), Joshi said there was a need to strike a balance on the issue. Not all firecrackers should be banned, only those that cause pollution should be banned, the RSS leader said. “Tomorrow someone may say burning of oil lamps on Diwali too is causing pollution. Therefore, there is a need to think seriously and strike a balance.” On reservation Answering a question on the issue of reservation, he said the RSS believes that those availing this facility should decide till what time they want it. If there were any discrepancies in the quota system, they should be removed, he said. “As such, we are in favour of giving reservation to those for whom it was meant.” Asked about contentious issues like the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, Article 370 — which grants special status to Jammu & Kashmir — and the Uniform Civil Code, he said these questions should be asked to the Union government. The meet, attended by top RSS leaders and delegates, including its head Mohan Bhagwat, reviewed programmes undertaken by the organisation in the past six months.