Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Friday said the Rohingyas in India were intruders, not refugees. In an interview to news agency ANI, the chief minister said it was “sad that some people are showing concern towards them as in Myanmar, many innocent Hindus were killed brutally”.

“It was also found that they have links with terrorist organisations,” he said, adding that the Indian government had made its stand on the Rohingyas clear.

The government’s stand

On September 18, the Centre had told the Supreme Court that it had inputs from security agencies that show Rohingya Muslim refugees in India have links with terror groups in Pakistan. The government said the continued illegal immigration of Rohingyas to India has “serious national security ramifications and threats”.

The Supreme Court will take up the matter again on October 3.

In August, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju had said the government wanted to deport the Rohingya refugees from India as they were illegal immigrants. The United Nations has criticised the decision, which was made even as the Rohingya crisis worsens in Myanmar.