AAP accuses BJP of ‘settling’ Rohingya refugees in Capital

Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday alleged that Rohingya refugees were “settled” in the Capital by the BJP-led Centre and given houses in the city’s Bakkarwala area.

The BJP, which is also Delhi’s main Opposition party, termed the accusation a “baseless rhetoric”.

AAP’s allegations came close on the heels of BJP’s charges about the rising presence of “illegal Rohingya immigrants in the Capital”. The BJP had accused AAP of facilitating their “illegal settlement” in the city to get their votes in election. The Opposition party had levelled the allegation after AAP claimed that the BJP has been conspiring to omit names of its supporters from the voter lists in a bid to win the Delhi Assembly poll due in February next year.

Sharpening its attack, AAP cited an over two-year-old social media post of Union Minister Hardip Singh Puri, who held the charge of the Union Urban Development Minister at the time.

In his post on X on August 17, 2022, Mr. Puri had said, “India has always welcomed those who have sought refuge in the country. In a landmark decision, all #Rohingya #Refugees will be shifted to EWS flats in Bakkarwala area of Delhi. They will be provided basic amenities, UNHCR IDs and round-the-clock Delhi Police protection.”

Commenting on X, Chief Minister Atishi said, “BJP people were in such a hurry to make false allegations against [former Delhi CM and AAP chief] Arvind Kejriwal that they forgot who brought the Rohingya to Delhi and settled them here.”

Former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said Mr. Puri’s post is the proof that the BJP “hatched the conspiracy to settle Rohingya in Delhi”.

‘Bid to mislead people’

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said AAP leaders are misleading people by citing an old comment of Mr. Puri, which was about “legal refugees, and not about illegal infiltrators”.

“The real issue is not the settlement of legal refugees but the presence of lakhs of illegally residing Rohingya and Bangladeshis, not just in Delhi, but also in States like U.P., Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jharkhand,” he said.

Daring Mr. Kejriwal for a debate, he said the “illegal infiltrators” are not only disturbing social harmony in Delhi but also contributing to criminal activities.