New Delhi: BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Tuesday courted controversy by seeking asylum for Rohingya refugees on “humanitarian” grounds, evoking a snub from the government which dubbed his views as “anti-national” and contradicting the official stand. In his column in a Hindi daily, Mr Gandhi, 37, an MP from Sultanpur, UP, suggested providing shelter to Rohingya refugees while treating them “humanely” and questioned the government’s plan to deport them.
The BJP MP was attacked by minister of state for home affairs Hansraj Ahir, who virtually called him anti-national. Ahir, while criticising Varun’s stand, told reporters here that, “Jo desh ke hitt mein sochega woh is tarah ke bayan nahi dega (Anyone who has national interest in mind, won’t make such statements).”
Following the minister’s remarks, Varun Tuesday tweeted that his article focused primarily on defining India’s asylum policy, with clear demarcations on how “we would accept refugees”. “As for the Rohingyas, I’ve called for empathy, leading potentially to asylum, while vetting each applicant for national security concerns,” he tweeted.
Varun’s remarks were at variance with the government’s stand on the issue. Terming the Rohingya refugees as “illegal” immigrants, the government had recently told the Supreme Court that some of them were part of a “sinister” design of Pakistan’s ISI and terror groups such as the ISIS, whose presence in the country will pose a “serious” national security threat.
The BJP, in its national executive Monday, adopted a resolution supporting the government’s stand on the Rohingya issue.
