AAP govt settling Rohingyas in Delhi, giving voter cards: BJP

New Delhi: Opening a new front against the AAP government, the BJP on Monday accused Chief Minister Atishi’s government of facilitating the illegal settlement of Rohingya migrants in Delhi for political gains.

Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta, in a letter addressed to the CM, also hit out at attempts by the AAP to issue voter I-cards to the illegal settlers in the city.

The Rohingya issue is the latest weapon in Delhi BJP’s arsenal as it looks to step up the attack on the AAP government on pollution and corruption ahead of Assembly elections scheduled to be held in February.

“National security cannot be sacrificed at the altar of political opportunism. Any attempts to legalise these illegal migrants through backdoor manipulations will be met with staunch opposition. The people of Delhi will not tolerate a government that compromises their safety, their resources, and their democratic rights,” wrote Gupta in his letter to the CM.

The BJP leader said, “The AAP government must immediately halt these activities, take strict action against illegal encroachments by Rohingya migrants, and ensure that no unauthorised person is issued identity documents. If your government fails to act decisively, we will be compelled to escalate this issue through legal, administrative, and public platforms.”

Gupta also demanded answers from the Chief Minister on steps taken to fight pollution which has allegedly increased over the past 10 years of AAP rule in the city.

The BJP leader slammed the earlier experiment of odd-even number vehicle restrictions in the city, saying, “That experiment added to the number of vehicles in the city as people bought new cars to possess both odd and even-numbered vehicles.”

He criticised the AAP government for broken roads, dust and traffic jams that add to pollution in the city. “AAP-ruled Punjab has broken all records of stubble burning and the party is blaming other states,” Gupta told IANS.

"Delhi's Chief Minister is politicising the issue of pollution in a way no one might have imagined. I want to tell CM Atishi that Delhi's 20 million residents are being forced to breathe toxic air today. Instead of owning up the responsibility for failures, you continue to play the blame game and are not even ready to apologise,” he said.

He also complained about half-hearted attempts by the city government to address the pollution problem. “Sometimes they say they have got bio-decomposer liquid to counter stubble burning and sometimes they showcase smog towers, which have become defunct. There has been no serious attempt to tackle pollution,” he said.

On alleged corruption in the Delhi government, he said, "The AAP is engulfed in corruption. Several prominent leaders have left the party. Kejriwal, who accuses others and projects himself as clean, must answer the corruption allegations."

Citing the exit of AAP leaders like Kailash Gahlot, Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Ashutosh and Kumar Vishwas from the ruling party, Gupta said Kejriwal had formed the party with the promise of fighting corruption but himself ended up taking to graft.

“Anna Hazare has also slammed them for misusing his anti-corruption campaign for their political gains,” he said.