Assam’s Finance, Education, and Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday stated Assam would not provide shelter to Rohingyas even if they are issued identity cards by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
Talking to reporters at Guwahati, Sarma said: “The state shall not provide asylum to Rohingyas even if they possess identity cards issued by the UNHCR.”
“We will provide them shelter only if India’s Ministry of Home Affairs issues a directive in this regard,” the Assam Cabinet minister stated.
“In Assam we do not have any official designated camps for Rohingyas, unlike Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and Telangana. All arrested Rohingyas are now in judicial custody, and the court will deliver the verdict regarding their futures,” Himanta Biswa Sarma added.
“The influx of Rohingyas to Assam started way back in 2009 when Congress was in power. The first Rohingya in Assam was arrested in Guwahati’s Paltan Bazar bus station on September 22, 2009,” Sarma said.
