Assam CM’s hate speech: “Rohingya infiltrators using Assam as corridor to reach Delhi, Kashmir”

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Friday that the state is being used as a corridor by “Rohingya infiltrators” from Bangladesh to either go to Delhi or Kashmir with the help of some brokers in Tripura.

He was addressing the Superintendents of Police convention at Bongaigaon.

‘Assam is now being used as a corridor by the Rohingyas to go to Delhi or Kashmir. Our investigations have revealed that some brokers of Tripura facilitate this infiltration,” Sarma said.

”(Authorities of) three districts in Barak Valley should remain active and we should not just confine ourselves by deporting the identified infiltrators but go to Tripura, arrest the brokers and break the backbone of this syndicate”, Sarma said.

The three districts of Barak Valley region are Cachar, Karimgaj and Hailakandi.

He said: “Proactive steps must be taken to prevent Rohingya infiltrators, smugglers and insurgents outside Assam from using the state as a corridor for transit to other states.”

”Intelligence should be increased in all railway stations from Barak Valley to the western border of Assam so that the Rohingyas are intercepted and decisive action is taken against them,” he said.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, the current Chief Minister of Assam, has a history of making Islamophobic remarks.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar to countries including Bangladesh, which borders India, after Myanmar’s military killed tens of thousands of people belonging to the minority community, raped women and burned dozens of their villages.

The United Nations said the military campaign against the Rohingya was carried out with “genocidal intent” and some of the military generals are facing a genocide trial at the International Court of Justice.

India has not signed the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, which spells out refugee rights and states’ responsibilities to protect them, nor does it have its own laws protecting refugees. Approximately 18,000 Rohingya lived in India as of early last year, according to Rohingya activists. They have been campaigning against the arbitrary arrests and Hindutva campaigns, urging the government to uphold commitments to human rights and democratic credentials.