New Delhi, May 20: While Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Monday termed Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s revelation about the Centre’s controversial suggestion to states to set up detention centres for illegal Bangladeshi immigrants as “not true”, official records obtained by The Indian Express contradict his claims.

Minutes of the meetings of the Nodal Authority, under the chairmanship of Union Home Secretary on January 24, 2007 and April 25, 2007, to review the progress of detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants, clearly show that the Centre wanted the states to set up detention centers for illegal immigrants.

The Rajasthan Chief Minister has reacted strongly to Patil’s comment on Monday that perhaps she was “shaken” after the blast and what she was saying was “not true”. Patil had also said, “We are not happy with her behaviour...Our country is not a monarchy. It is a democracy.”

Speaking to The Indian Express, Raje said: “Why is Union Home Minister trivializing this? Why is he diverting the issue? The main issue is a uniform, comprehensive approach to terrorism. This is a democratic set-up. We are not recalcitrant children and you are not our headmaster. The Union Home Minister talking of samantshahi is like the pot calling the kettle black.”

According to the minutes of the January 24, 2007 meeting, the Centre had stated, “State Governments should, in a time-bound manner, set up Detention Centres as per their requirement for detention of illegal migrants pending their deportation to the country of their origin.” It added that the expenditure for setting up and running the detention centres should be borne by the state governments.

In the April 25 meeting that year, the Union Home Secretary had even told the participants that the “primary objectives” of the deportation exercise was to effectively control illegal immigration “by instilling a sense of fear and insecurity” in their minds.

Raje said today: “It is very clear from the communication sent by the Ministry of Home Affairs in February, March and May 2007 that there was a conscious decision of the Union Home Ministry that state governments are required to set up detention centers for illegally staying foreigners pending their deportation.”

“I would like to reiterate that instead of the slanging match and attempt to make political capital out of it, I would appeal to the Prime Minister to immediately convene a meeting of the CMs on internal security. The need for having a strong law like POTA should be discussed threadbare in that meeting. Also, on the security agenda of the Central government should be issues like strengthening the intelligence set up- both at the Centre and the states, creation of a national database of criminals and terrorists and a full-proof institutionalized mechanism of information sharing amongst Central and state agencies,” she said.

In a letter to Home Secretaries of all state governments/ UT Administrations on March 12, 2007, the Home Ministry had said, “For the detection and deportation of such illegal migrants, including Bangladeshis, the State Governments/ UT Administrations are requested to launch special drives ensuring at the same time that no Indian national is deported.”

According to the minutes of the April 25, 2007 meeting, attended by representatives of the state governments, the Nodal Authority evaluated the feasibility of setting up Detention Centre on the lines of the one set up in NCT of Delhi. “(Union) Home Secretary also mentioned that creation of more Detention Centres would help in instilling a feeling of insecurity among illegally staying foreigners. State Governments were also requested to forward a report in this regard,” according to the minutes.

Asked about the Rajasthan government’s decision to identify and deport the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the wake of the serial blasts in Jaipur, AICC spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan had said at a press briefing on Monday, “Whatever is there in the Foreigners’ Act should apply in case of illegal immigrants. But what the Chief Minister said may further aggravate the situation and send a wrong message of communal politics.”

Minutes of the April 25 meeting, however, indicate it was the Registrar General of India who had suggested such a survey. “He felt that if a survey, even on a small scale, for verification of citizenship of suspected illegal migrants is undertaken...it would create a lot of pressure on illegal migrants, besides helping the State machinery to fine-tune their existing procedure of detection and deportation of foreigners.”