‘Baseless rhetoric’: BJP rejects AAP's charge of ‘settling’ Rohingyas in Delhi

The BJP said the real issue is not the settlement of legal refugees but the presence of millions of illegally residing Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis.

The Aam Admi Party (AAP) on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of settling Rohingya refugees in Delhi while publicly insulting them, reported news agency PTI.

Delhi chief minister Atishi and Delhi BJP chief Virendraa Sachdeva

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, dismissed the allegations by AAP as “baseless rhetoric” and stated that the real issue was not the settlement of legal refugees but the presence of illegally residing Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis in the country as a whole.

Earlier, senior AAP leaders, including chief minister Atishi, MP Sanjay Singh, and Manish Sisodia, highlighted a post on social media platform X in 2022 by Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri as “evidence” of the saffron party's alleged involvement in housing Rohingya Muslims in EWS (economically weaker sections) flats in Delhi's Bakkarwala area.

In a post on X, CM Atishi said, “The BJP was so desperate to accuse Arvind Kejriwal that they forgot their own role in bringing and settling Rohingyas in Delhi. Hardeep Puri's tweet has exposed the truth to the people of Delhi.”

Manish Sisodia also wrote in Hindi on X saying that the tweet proved that the BJP had “conspired to settle Rohingyas in Delhi while pretending to oppose them”. He also alleged that the public had been misled with hateful rhetoric while EWS flats, security and facilities were provided to the Rohingya Muslims.

MP Sanjay Singh said, "Delhiites can now see who truly brought and settled Rohingyas in the city. The BJP's duplicity stands exposed."

Similar statements were also issued by other AAP leaders, including Sandeep Pathak, Raghav Chadha, and Gopal Rai. The issue had been raised by AAP in 2022 as well.

The controversy has heightened as the Delhi assembly polls approach in February.