Mizoram has urged the Centre not to deport the 300 Myanmarese who have taken refuge in the northeastern state after a military coup in the neighbouring country last month, an official said on Friday.
A delegation comprising two MPs from the state and representatives of the ruling Mizo National Front had on Thursday met Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai in Delhi and requested him to extend necessary help to the Myanmarese who have crossed over into India due to the humanitarian crisis, he said.
They said the Myanmarese people who have fled their country had faced atrocities at the hands of the military, which seized power from the civilian government on February 1.
The delegation, comprising Lok Sabha MP C Lalrosanga, Rajya Sabha member K Vanlalvena, MNF leader and state planning board vice chairman H Rammawi and MNF adviser Rosangzuala, said deporting the Myanmarese is not possible till normalcy returns to the Southeast Asian country.
The delegation said India should take a pro-active role and raise a stronger voice in support of people fighting for the restoration of democracy in Myanmar.
Vanlalvena had on Tuesday informed the Parliament that 300 Myanmarese, including 150 security personnel, have already crossed over into Mizoram since the coup and "sending them back now would mean killing them".
He said deporting the refugees will not go down well with the people of Mizoram as the Myanmarese who have sought shelter in the state also belong to the Mizo tribe.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had on March 10 written to the chief secretaries of four Myanmar-bordering states Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, asking them to take appropriate action as per the law to check the influx of people from the neighbouring country.
The Home Ministry had also asked the border states to identify illegal immigrants and take immediate measures to deport them.