Hindus, Buddhists are refugees, not infiltrators

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has said Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who entered India from Bangladesh under conditions covered by the Citizenship Amendment Act are refugees, not infiltrators.

Speaking at the launch of a digital census programme in the state, Adhikari sought to distinguish refugees from illegal entrants.

He said members of the six communities who fled religious persecution or entered India to save their lives by December 31, 2014, could not be prosecuted or harassed by police under the relevant central government rules and guidelines.

The Indian citizenship portal says the CAA provision applies to members of these communities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who entered India on or before the stipulated date.

Adhikari, however, took a tough stance against people he described as illegal infiltrators, saying they would be identified through due legal procedures and deported to their countries of origin.

He added that India had no moral or constitutional responsibility to support illegal entrants.