UP too plans action against ‘illegal’ Bangladeshis

Amid the row over exclusion of about 40 lakh people from the National Register for Citizens (NRC) in Assam, the Uttar Pradesh government too has made it clear that it proposes to act against illegal Bangladeshis in the state.

“India is not a ‘dharamshala’ (rest houses) that people can come and stay illegally. If illegal Bangladeshis are found in UP, they will be deported as per law,” UP cabinet minister Siddharth Nath Singh told HT.

“Supreme Court has said that illegal immigration is silent invasion of India and, therefore, this SC monitored NRC detection exercise is being conducted. Mayawati and Rahul Gandhi are willing to compromise national security for their vote bank politics,” he said.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), too, is planning to write to chief minister Yogi Adityanath to undertake a verification drive to identify all illegal immigrants in UP.

Interestingly, in October 2017 Adityanath had directed the police to identify illegal immigrants residing in the state.

“Bangladeshis who have been illegally residing in UP have always posed a big threat to the state. We have consistently maintained this position and now that we have a government that believes in justice for all and appeasement of none, we would certainly like the BJP government to act against them,” said Sharad Sharma, VHP’s Ayodhya based spokesman on phone from the temple city.

He cited the recent arrest of two terror suspects of Bangladeshi origin from Uttar Pradesh as a case in point.

Earlier this month, the police had arrested 13 illegal immigrants from Bangladesh who were residing in Mathura. The arrests had come on the basis of a tip off provided by another illegal Bangladeshi immigrant who was arrested in June. “This Bangladeshi used to dress up as a seer and that only goes to prove how dangerous this game of illegal immigration is. They are a potential security risk,” Sharma said.

Prior to this, nearly 25 illegal Bangladeshis were arrested by the police in April. These arrests were also made from Mathura. A delegation of saints too is readying to meet the CM on the issue.

First Published: Aug 02, 2018 12:42 IST