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Business News/ Politics / News/  Illegal migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh will be sent back
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Illegal migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh will be sent back

Illegal migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh will be sent back

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New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s, or BJP’s, chief ministerial candidate for Delhi, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, says his party will deport all illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh if it is voted to power in the 29 November assembly elections.

In an interview with Mint, the Lahore-born Malhotra says his government will push for a stringent anti-terror law for the capital-state to make it a safer place to live in. He wants to legalize all unauthorized colonies in the National Capital Region, or NCR, and clean up the Yamuna river. Malhotra also vows to focus more on sport and generating jobs for the youth. Edited excerpts:

Terror seems to be a major poll issue. What is the BJP planning for Delhi?

Mark of belonging: The BJP’s chief ministerial candidate for Delhi V.K. Malhotra says the party would like everyone to have identity cards. Harikrishna Katragadda / Mint

All Muslims are not terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims. Saying that don’t target them (Muslims) does not mean that even terrorists should not be targeted.

Are you in favour of increased surveillance? What are the other measures you are looking at to counter terror?

A larger police force, more helicopters, motorcycles, camera and (fixing) a response time at under a minute (after a terror strike happens)... Terrorists should get the message that once they are caught, they cannot escape.

We would like to see that everyone in Delhi has an identity card. We will make it mandatory. One lakh Pakistanis and four lakh Bangladeshis are here, who came with visas and did not go back. They have all sort of become citizens here.

Are you looking at a programme for systematically sending these people back?

Yes. Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. All sorts of criminal groups are coming in from Bangladesh. We will implement it right after we come to power, and it is very important on our agenda. We will ask for a very strong terror law in Delhi, like the one in London. We will try but, at the moment, we are at the mercy of the Central government. Sheila Dikshit says that there should be a strong law, the very next day, she says there should be a cooperative Central government, but it is their own government there... building mafia, land mafia... Delhi is a crime capital with hundreds of crimes committed against women.

According to some statistics, 664 people come to live in Delhi every day. Are we looking at a migration policy?

What does your party propose to do for Delhi if it comes to power?

Push on education, more hospitals, Yamuna beautification...we will authorize all unauthorized colonies and no new juggi-jhompris (slum clusters) will be allowed to come up and (the) existing ones will be shifted. Delhi will be a cleaner place. The BRT (bus rapid transit) corridor will be scrapped. It has increased traffic jams in Delhi...the alternative will be to have more Delhi Metro lines.

Will the Bahujan Samaj Party, or BSP, play a spoiler?

No doubt about it. They will get most of the Muslim votes. But Muslims vote strategically. They just see who can defeat the BJP. The Muslim-dominated areas are BSP strongholds. They will play a spoiler role for both the Congress and the BJP, but the Congress will be hurt more.

What do you plan to do for the youth?

We don’t want to open pubs like in Mumbai. We are thinking of sports clubs and gyms in each constituency. Many more clubs have to be opened on the Yamuna river front. Many colleges and schools that don’t have sports facilities, they should be given space there.

Moreover, the youth should not remain unemployed. There are more than five lakh of people (registered) at all the employment centres. We have to have an urban employment generation scheme in Delhi.

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Published: 17 Oct 2008, 12:30 AM IST
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