Is new allotment to Rohingya refugees in Delhi a priority?

Earlier this week, on Wednesday, a controversy surfaced over the allotment of government flats to Rohingya refugees in Delhi.

The Centre (ruling government) has previously made claims stating that, the Rohingya Muslims are not refugees but illegal immigrants and that the Kashmiri Pandits and Hindus from Pakistan living as refugees in the Captial are the main priority for the allotment.

Tweets by Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The uproar started after Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted, that “India has always welcomed those who have sought refuge in the country. In a landmark decision, all #Rohingya #Refugees will be shifted to EWS (Economically  Weaker Section) flats in the Bakkarwala area of Delhi. They will be provided basic amenities, UNHCR IDs (United Nations High commissioner for Refugees Identity Cards), and round-the-clock @DelhiPolice protection”.

He further added, “Those who made a career out of spreading canards on India’s refugee policy deliberately linking it to CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) will be disappointed. India respects & follows UN (United Nations) Refugee Convention 1951 and provides refuge to all, regardless of their race, religion, or creed”. 

Union Home Minister, Amit Shah’s statement on this issue. 

As the criticism of the ruling government grew, the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, issued a statement to present a clear image.

There was a thread of tweets (3), the Home Minister’s Office said, “With respect to news reports in certain sections of media regarding Rohingya Illegal foreigners, it is clarified that MHA (Ministry of Home  Affairs) has not given any directions to provide flats to Rhingys illegal migrants at Bakkarwala in New Delhi”.

Furthermore, the tweet said, “The government of Delhi proposed to shift Rohingya to a new location. MHA has directed the GNCTC (Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi) to ensure that the Rohingya illegal foreigners will continue at the present location as MHA has already taken up the matter of their deportation with the concerned country through MEA (Ministry of External Affairs)”. 

And the final tweet said, “Illegal foreigners are to be kept in Detention Centre till their deportation as per law. The government of Delhi has not declared the present location as a Detention Centre. They have been directed to do the same immediately”.

Regarding this, the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, accused the ruling government of attempting to secretly settle the Rohingya Muslims in the capital.

The deputy chief minister then took it to Twitter and said, “After AAP’s protest, the central government has now started blaming the Delhi government for the news over which it was not getting tired of taking credit since morning. The fact is that the central government was surreptitiously trying to give permanent residence to the Rohingya”.

He further added, “The officials and the police took the decision on the central government’s signal and the behest of the L-G (lieutenant governor. They sent the decision for the L-G’s approval without showing it to the Delhi Chief Minister or home minister. The Delhi government will not allow this conspiracy of illegally settling the Rohingya in Delhi to succeed”.

The Union Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, later changed his stance and said the home minister’s stand is the  “correct position”. 

Who are the Rohingya Muslims?

They are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who follows Islam and resides in the Rakhine State of Myanmar.