New Delhi: The controversy over the settling of Rohingyas at a north Delhi colony, fuelled by tweets of Union Housing and Urban Affairs minister Hardeep Puri, has exposed the deficiency in the handling of controversial issues by the Narendra Modi government.
Quoting an article by the news agency ANI published on Tuesday, Puri took to Twitter to claim the credit for shifting Rohingya refugees to apartments in Bakkarwala in outer Delhi.
Hours after the tweets by Puri, Union Minister Amit Shah-led Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had to jump in for the defence of the government by issuing a denial regarding any such proposal.
Sources stated that Puri had seemingly jumped the gun and tweeted on the issue without taking senior leadership into confidence.
The goof-up on Puri's part was apparently made as the minister hails from bureaucracy and was not mindful of the sensitive nature of the issue and its political implications, sources said.
MHA forced to clarify
The sharing of the thread on social media by Puri put the Modi government in an awkward situation over the rehabilitation of the Rohingya Muslims. The issue created a major storm as even BJP supporters took to the internet to express their outrage over the issue.
The pressure on the Modi government over the controversy was very intense considering the fact that Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh affiliate Vishwa Hindu Parishad too attacked the government over the issue, sources said. The saffron affiliate also pointed out that the government had earlier assured the deportation of Rohingyas from the country and asked it to clarify its stand.
Embarrassed over the news report and senior minister’s tweet, MHA on Wednesday issued a clarification that it had not given any directions to provide flats to Rohingya Muslims in Delhi and asked the Arvind Kejriwal government to ensure the illegal foreigners remained at their present location.
MHA also said that the Delhi government had moved the proposal which was not accepted by the ministry.
However, AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said in a press conference that he had already attacked Puri on Twitter for this action at around 11 am on Wednesday morning.
Fingers are being pointed at ANI now whose story started the entire controversy.
"If there was no clearance from any ministry, such a story by ANI has done significant damage to the Modi government. Although the story mentions the presence of Delhi government officials including the Chief Secretary of Delhi, it indicated a shift in the Modi government's policy. Denial and attack by AAP over Puri's tweet have not left any defence for the government," said a party insider.
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