Atishi claims Centre settling Rohingyas in Delhi; 'false narrative', says Hardeep Puri

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Atishi wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, accusing the BJP-led Centre of settling "a large number of illegal Rohingyas" in different parts of the city.

With the AAP targeting Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri over his tweets and claiming that settling these refugees here was a "conscious decision" of the BJP-led NDA government, the minister accused AAP of indulging in "politics of diversion, false narratives and half-truths".

In the run-up to the Delhi Assembly polls due in February 2025, the ruling AAP and BJP have been hitting out at one another over the issue of illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi people staying in the national capital.

The BJP has already complained to the Election Commission about illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis registered as voters in Delhi "at the behest of AAP".

Citing two tweets by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in 2022, Atishi alleged the Union government has settled a large number of illegal Rohingya refugees in different parts of the national capital by keeping the people and the government of Delhi in the dark.

"This seems to be going on for the past several years. On August 17, 2022, Union Urban Development Minister Hardeep Puri published two tweets that clearly show that it is a 'conscious decision and policy' of the BJP government to settle these refugees in Delhi," she alleged in the letter to Shah.

"From the post of Puri, it seems they were settled into EWS (Economically Backward Class) flats of Bakkarwala. These flats were meant for the poor people of Delhi. It appears that the rights and facilities meant for the people of Delhi are being given away to migrants," Atishi said.

Puri hit back with an X post on Sunday saying, "Aam Aadmi Party continues with its politics of diversion, false narratives and half-truths. Facts and actual position on illegal Rohingya migrants were immediately clarified through a tweet on the same day which they selectively chose to ignore, and continue to do so." "No Rohingya migrant has been given a govt house in Delhi. In fact, contrary to the drummed-up AAP rhetoric they are actually the ones who play host to the illegal Rohingyas in Delhi, have settled them in large numbers, give them electricity and water, and even pay them Rs 10,000," he alleged.

Atishi claimed these migrants would not just cause law-and-order problems for Delhiites but also "take away their jobs" and strain the city's limited resources.

Citing media reports, she claimed that thousands of Rohingya migrants were crossing the India-Bangladesh border every day without any hindrance.

"This shows how the BJP government has completely failed to protect our borders. If this situation continues, is our country in a position to handle such a large number of refugees? The answer is NO. Then why is the BJP government not doing anything to stop this illegal migration?" she asked Shah.

The Delhi chief minister also asked how the immigrants, after crossing the international border, managed to reach Delhi thousands of kilometres away.

"Were these illegal immigrants transported to different parts of India by the BJP government in a systematic manner by keeping the people of India in the dark? How many Rohingyas did you transport and relocate to Delhi?" she posed.

Atishi said it was "most shocking" that the BJP-led Union government "settled" these Rohingyas in different parts of Delhi while the "party-appointed" lieutenant governor directed the Delhi Police to conduct a door-to-door survey to identify Rohingyas.

She demanded Shah provide a complete list of Rohingyas settled in Delhi and emphasised that no illegal refugees should be settled in the city in future without consulting the people and the Delhi government.

Last week, the Delhi LG Secretariat directed the chief secretary and police commissioner of Delhi to launch a two-month special drive to identify and take strict action against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants residing in the national capital.