Shri Bishwa Bhushan Harichandan, Minister for Law, Industry and the Rural Development and leader of BJP legislature in Orissa is concerned at the move of the UPA government which has served notice on Hindu refugees to quit India within 30 days. He said the UPA government had humiliated the Hindus in Kendrapara district and what was worse was that the list prepared was faulty.The senior BJP leader of the state has discussed the matter with the Chief Minister. The legal position of the Law Minister while giving an interview to Organiser correspondent Deepak Kumar Rath is as given below:
People who have entered Orissa after March 25, 1971 are infiltrators. Therefore it is difficult for the government to differentiate between the infiltrators and the refugees. There should be some amendment in the Act for distinguishing as to who are infiltrators and who are refugees so that the state government is able to make a detailed inquiry and take steps for deporting the infiltrators and retaining the refugees in the state. It is a fact that Hindus of Bangladesh are seeking shelter in India, because they are being tortured, oppressed and humiliated in Bangladesh. For them, India is a natural shelter and they should be treated as refugees in India and rehabilitated. But so far as others are concerned, they are entering Orissa and other states to make economic profits or to build a better future. Under no circumstances should such people be entertained as they are really infiltrators and need to be deported.
The list that has been prepared in Kendrapara district is faulty and most of the people should be treated as refugees, because they left Bangladesh to protect their lives after being tortured and humiliated. Therefore it is a humanitarian question and no steps should be taken to deport them to Bangladesh. Since notices have been served on them for quitting India, these innocent people are panic-stricken and their children are not attending schools but roaming hither and thither with tears in their eyes. I had a detailed discussion with the Chief Minister on this issue and I emphatically suggested that these people should not be deported to Bangladesh as they were really refugees. This being a humanitarian question, the government should rethink over it. The inquiry that has been conducted in Kendrapara district is superficial and self-defeating. Therefore, the order of the government for deporting them within 30 days from the date of notice should be withdrawn. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has agreed to order a thorough inquiry and not take any action in a hurry.
