 "Shashi Tharoor")
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has flagged the need for India to have a legal framework to deal with refugees and asylum seekers, while urging the government to use his private member's asylum Bill as a starting point.
"India has a respectable track record of dealing with refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tibet and Sri Lanka in the past but lacks a legal framework for the same. We need a Bill for this," Tharoor told Business Standard.
The Congress Lok Sabha MP (Member of Parliament) from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, who recently met Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, said he was hopeful of a forward movement on the issue. "The home secretary was receptive to my suggestions," he said.
The issue has come into focus with Baloch leader Brahumdagh Bugti recently requesting the Centre to grant him asylum.
In the absence of a policy to deal with the request, the government is examining the grant of asylum to Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in 1959 by then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Tharoor, who has had a long stint with the United Nations (UN), pointed out that India has not signed the UN protocol on refugees, making it a small minority among the democracies in the world.
"We are dealing with the refugee policy on an ad hoc basis. We must have a uniform policy," said Tharoor, who had consulted an NGO (non-government organisation) Ara Trust, while framing his private member's Bill submitted in Parliament last year.
Usually private member's Bills are an important instrument to allow parliamentarians flag vital issues. At times, some of the Bills are discussed in the House also.
But, finally, it is upon the government to take it further and bring a proper Bill in parliament.
"My Bill is a codification of the existing practices," said Tharoor, adding he often faced embarrassment at the UN Refugee Council over India's lack of an asylum policy.
Pointing out an anomaly, the Congress leader said the Kerala police had recently arrested around 20 persons, as they had refugee status only in Delhi.
"This was a silly issue. We need a policy to have a uniformity in dealing with refugee issues," he said.
Tharoor said he would seek time with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to highlight his point.
At present, the government relies upon the Foreigner's Act, 1946 and registration of Foreigner's Act, 1939 to govern entry, stay and exit of refugees.
