Atishi Writes To Shah Over Rohingyas Row In Delhi, Accuses Centre Of 'Conscious Decision' To Settle Refugees

Delhi CM Atishi stated that settling illegal migrants would increase the pressure on the city's limited resources and that they would also cause law and order problems in the national capital.

As the ruling AAP and BJP continue to hit out at each other amid the ongoing row over Rohingyas and Bangladeshis staying illegally in the national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, slamming the central government for its "conscious decision" of settling illegal migrant Rohingya refugees in different parts of the city.

Atishi also targeted Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri citing his 2022 tweets regarding the shifting of Rohingya refugees to the EWS (Economically Backward Class) flats in Bakkarwala area of Delhi, without the knowledge of the Delhi government. She remarked that these social media posts by Puri were an evidence of the involvement of the Centre in settling refugees in Delhi, who she said were taking away the resources meant for the people residing in the national capital.

"Honourable Home Minister Amit Shah, the Central Government settled a large number of illegal Rohingya refugees in Delhi without any information, while the Delhi Government and the public were kept completely ignorant of this matter," Atishi stated in a post on X, along with the two-page letter she wrote to Shah.

"The tweets of Union Minister Hardeep S Puri also make it clear that how the BJP-ruled Central Government deliberately settled the Rohingyas in Delhi and snatched the rights of the people of Delhi by settling the Rohingya refugees in the EWS flats of Bakkarwala, which were meant for the poor of Delhi," she added.

Atishi stated that this move by the Centre would increase the pressure on the city's limited resources and that the migrants would not just cause law and order problems but also take away the jobs of Delhi residents.

In the letter, the Delhi CM alleged, "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 further wrote that the EWS flats of Bakkarwala 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 wrote.

Expressing anguish over the alleged move by Centre, Atishi questioned how the illegal migrants managed to not just cross the border but also travel to a city that is thousands of kilometres away from the Bangladesh border.

Citing media reports, Atishi also claimed thousands of Rohingya migrants were crossing the India-Bangladesh border every day without any problems. "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.

Atishi further expressed shock as to how BJP-led government settled Rohingyas in Delhi while the Lieutenant Governor directed the Delhi Police to conduct door-to-door surveys to identify the illegal migrants in the city.

She also demanded that the Home Minister provide a list of all the Rohingyas living in Delhi, stressing that no illegal refugees be settled in future without consulting the Delhi government.

Atishi's letter to Shah comes after Delhi LG Secretariat directed the chief secretary and police commissioner of Delhi last week to start a two-month special drive in order to identify illegal Bangladeshi immigrants residing in the national capital and to take "strict action" against them.