‘Deport them if you want, but you can’t let them die’: CM Omar on Rohingya in J&K
‘Deport them if you want, but you can’t let them die’: CM Omar on Rohingya in J&K
M.U.H
10/12/202425
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday described the settlement of the Rohingya people in the UT as a “humanitarian dispute” and made it clear that “they cannot be made to starve and die when they are here”. His remarks came hours after BJP demanded a CBI probe into the alleged illegal settlement of Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals in J&K.
“Yahan thand se unko mar nahi sakte ho (You cannot get let them die in the cold here)”, he said, asking the Government of India to clarify as to what has to be done with them. “Till they are here, you have to take care of them,” he added.
“Hamne unko yahan la ke basaya nahi. Unko laya gaya, yahan basaya gaya (They have been brought here and settled, but we did not bring them here),” Omar said. “Now if the Centre’s policy (on them) has changed, it shall take them back,” he said. “If you (Centre) want to take them, then take them. However, till they (Rohingya) are here, they cannot be treated like animals. They are human beings and they shall be treated like humans”.
Talking to media persons on the sideline of a function, the CM said: “If they have to be deported, then deport them. If you can send them back, then send them and if you cannot, then you cannot make them starve and die here.”
Earlier in the day, the BJP termed the alleged illegal settlement of Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals in J&K “a matter of security concern” and urged Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to order a CBI probe to identify those involved in facilitating it.
Hitting out at the NC government over remarks on providing water connection to Rohingya nationals, J&K BJP chief spokesperson Sunil Sethi said the illegal settlement in J&K, especially in Jammu, which is only a few kms away from Pakistan, is a matter of security concern.
Making a fervent appeal to the L-G to order a CBI inquiry to “investigate and identify persons involved in bringing in and facilitating the settlement of Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals in Jammu’’, Sethi said that “such persons/elements should be booked for anti-national activities and punished”. “People should know those showing sympathy with the illegally settled foreign nationals and advocating their cases in courts,” he added.
