`Bangladeshis have no business to be in India without permit`

New Delhi, Jan 11 (PTI) Indicating stricter measures to
check illegal immigration from Bangladesh, Union Home Minister
P Chidambaram has said nationals from that country have "no
business" to be in India without permission and that there is
"no reason" why a large number of visas are being issued to
them every month.

Chidambaram, who has been taking a close look at the
security set up in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks,
voiced concern over the "very ineffective" monitoring system
to check whether a Bangladeshi coming to India has returned
to his country after expiry of his visa or stayed on.

Noting that illegal immigration was causing "unexpected"
demographic changes in Assam and West Bengal, he said, "I
don't regard a Bangladeshi as a Muslim or a non-Muslim. He is
a Bangladeshi. He has no business to come to India unless he
has a visa. He has no business to live here unless he has a
residence permit.

"He has no business to work here unless he has a work
permit. He is a Bangladeshi. His religion is completely
irrelevant," he told NDTV.

To a question on steps to end illegal immigration, the
Home Minister said, "I am now looking into what is happening
on our borders, passport control points...I think we issue a
very large number of visas to Bangladeshis every month.

"There is no reason to issue so many visas. And there is
very ineffective monitoring system (to check) whether the guy
has gone back to Bangladesh or remained here," Chidambaram
said.

Chidambaram said porous borders and illegal immigration
were causing "unexpected demographic changes and a lot of
angst" among the native population in Assam and West Bengal.

"I am in sympathy with that contention that
demographies are changing. But some parts of the history
cannot be retraced. So, one has to learn to accept it.
Therefore, we will have to swallow something, accept some pain
and then make sure that it doesn't continue for the next five
or ten years," he said.

Observing that the intelligence system has been "more
or less fixed" with the re-establishment of the Multi-Agency
Centre (MAC), the Home Minister said the "best example" of
that was the security agencies had prior information about a
recent attack in Guwahati.

"We had information late in the afternoon of December
31. We shared (it) in real time basis with the Assam
Government...I was able to speak to the Chief Minister," he
said.

Maintaining that the agencies were able to give even
the name of a potential terrorist, he admitted that there
was a "little hiccup" with regard to acting on the
information.

Chidambaram also said there has been "no leak" from
any central intelligence agency since the first week of
December. "For example, nobody knew about Guwahati until I
disclosed it in Guwahati (during my recent visit). But I
cannot stop state policemen from talking to the press."

Terming as "unfortunate" the blame game among security
agencies, he said, "We have clearly laid down the rule book
that no central government agency will talk on these matters."

On specific information with regard to the Mumbai
strikes, Chidambaram explained, "Well, it can be as specific
as you can get. You will not get an invitation card which says
you are cordially invited to come and witness a seaside
incursion...You will not get anything like that.

"There was enough intelligence building up and I think
the last piece was quite clinching. It was shared with two
agencies as I said in Parliament. They say they did their
best. They could not locate the ship or the fishing trawler."

Maintaining that there have been "gaps" in intelligence
gathering and intelligence sharing, the Home Minister said,
"more importantly after the intelligence was shared, neither
the giver nor the receiver were talking to each other and
asking questions. That I think is the failure."

He said what was important was gathering intelligence,
sharing it and then following it up rigourously to take it
to its logical end.

Asked if anything has been found about that ship which
was used by the terrorists, he said "Yes, it is a Pakistani
ship. Well, it is (now) probably hidden..."

On its ownership, he said, "That we don't know. Those
investigations can take place only on the Pakistani soil. I am
sure that the ship is hidden in some minor port, so we never
find it."

To a question on the Pakistani system of registration of
its nationals, Chidambaram said," In fact, they say Ajmal Amir
Kasab's (the lone surviving Mumbai attack terrorist) name is
not there. Our information is that not more than 30 per cent
of Pakistanis are on that national data (system)."

He also said that he has a 150-day plan to meet the
needs and demands of para-military forces which have been
fighting terror. PTI