NEW DELHI, Aug 18 ? The Centre has confirmed that illegal infiltrators from the neighbouring countries have managed to obtain ration cards and voters identity cards. This was Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Sriprakash Jaiswal?s first remarks in the Rajya Sabha on the issue of illegal infiltration after the fiasco over the estimate of 1.20 crore illegal Bangladeshis staying in India.
Obviously suffering from the syndrome of once bitten twice shy, the Minister, who was forced to retract his earlier statement, however, did not name any country this time. The Foreigners Act 1946 under section 3(2) C empowers the Government to detect and deport foreign nationals staying in India unauthorisedly. This power has been entrusted to the State Governments, which have been asked to launch special drives to detect and deport those foreigners, he added.
In reply to a separate question, the Minister admitted that illegal infiltration from across Bangladesh border has been a great source of concern to every section of Indian society, particularly to women and children. He said the issue was discussed during the DG level talks between BSF and BDR held on April 28. BSF soldiers are actively vigilant to prevent the trafficking of women and children. To prevent infiltration and women trafficking across the Bangladesh border, the BSF troops deployed along the international border have been sensitised. The DG BSF shared his concern with DG BDR for this crime against humanity, he said.