The issue of illegal Rohingya immigrants has resurfaced as a result of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s tweet and subsequent clarification by India’s Home Ministry. Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted on August 17, 2022, that all 1100 Rohingya illegal immigrants in Delhi would be provided with housing (EWS flats) and round-the-clock protection. After a few hours, the Ministry of Home Affairs, led by Home Minister Amit Shah, clarified that the Rohingya illegal immigrants would not be provided with EWS flats in Delhi, and they will be kept in detention centres till their deportation. It is thus necessary to recall how these illegal Rohingya immigrants encroached on the Uttar Pradesh government’s land in Delhi and how the Uttar Pradesh government later freed it from their unlawful possession.
In Delhi, local Aam Aadmi Party leader Amanatullah Khan had helped over 300 Rohingyas to settle in the Madanpur Khadar region. It was reported that those illegal Rohingya settlers were getting government benefits. It was alleged that the Delhi Government and Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan were accused of providing a huge amount of ration to them. Madanpur Khadar falls under the Okhla constituency in New Delhi.
As per the report, the illegal settlement of Rohingyas also had stolen electricity connections and borewell water. The 2.1-hectare land is worth Rs 150 crores. Rohingya camps were built illegally on the land that belonged to the Irrigation Department of the Uttar Pradesh government.
On 22 July 2021, CM Yogi-led Uttar Pradesh government initiated a massive anti-encroachment drive in Madanpur Khadar from the possession of Rohingyas. The administration reached the spot at around 4 AM to clear the illegal structures raised by Rohingyas. Then Jal Shakti Minister of Uttar Pradesh government, Mahendra Singh, shared the information in his tweets.
He had said at that time, “Yogi’s bulldozer ran in Delhi. Yogi government’s big action in Delhi. Encroachments built by Rohingyas on Irrigation Department’s land were removed in Madanpur Khadar during the anti-encroachment drive that started at 4 AM.”
दिल्ली में फिर से चला योगी का बुल्डोजर,
— Dr. Mahendra Singh (@bjpdrmahendra) July 22, 2021
योगी सरकार की दिल्ली में बड़ी कार्यवाही,
मदनपुर खादर में सुबह 4 बजे ही कार्यवाही कर सिंचाई विभाग की भूमि पर अवैध कब्जे से रोहंगिया केम्पों को हटाया गया एवं अवैध कब्जे तोड़े गए
उ.प्र.सिंचाई विभाग की 2.10 हेक्टेयर जमीन मुक्त कराई। pic.twitter.com/OIgvOmMqFF
He further said, “There were illegal encroachments on the land of Uttar Pradesh in Delhi. The government launched a campaign to vacate these pieces of land. 2.1 hectares of land have been vacated. People had built pucca houses and had been occupying them for years. Some people had settled Rohingyas in the region with the help of the local government. We had contact with LG, who assured full cooperation of clearing the land.” He also stated that every inch of land that belongs to Uttar Pradesh would be freed of encroachments.
On 17th August 2022, Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s tweet gave the impression that India, which had long deemed Rohingya Muslims to be illegal immigrants, was warming to the idea of treating them as refugees. The MHA, on the other hand, claimed that the claims of resettling Rohingyas to EWS housing units and providing them with refugee cards are false. It stated unequivocally that Rohingyas are ‘illegal foreigners’ who are illegally present in India and will be expelled rather than granted refugee status.
