Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi's comment on the Rohingya refugees has been slammed by his own party members with party spokesperson saying that "ultimately the Government of India takes the decision and everybody has to fall in line with it."
"One of our MPs was just expressing his opinion, that humanitarian consideration must be seen on the Rohingyas and that they should be retained on the Indian soil, but ultimately the Government of India takes the decision and everybody has to fall in line." BJP spokesperson S. Prakash told ANI.
He further said that the party's stand is very clear on the Rohingyas, adding that "they are considered to be illegal immigrants and not refugees."
Prakash also said that the Central Government has already submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court that they are a security threat and many links between them and terror organisations have been found.
He further said that any continuation of the Rohingyas on the Indian soil will jeopardise the national security.
Varun Gandhi, in the editorial published in a Hindi newspaper, had expressed his opinion and called for a national refugee policy, which differentiates between people fleeing a country following persecution as opposed to those fleeing poverty.
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Earlier, Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir had also bashed Varun and said that a leader, who thinks in favour of the nation, would not give such a statement.
"Any leader who thinks in the favour of the nation will never make any statement like this. The Prime Minister of Myanmar, who is a Nobel Laureate, did not accept the Rohingyas then how can us?" Ahir told ANI.
He added that the Rohingyas have tried to interrupt in the functioning of the Myanmar Government.
"If any outsider enters India like this and looking at their past how they troubled Myanmar Government, spread terror and worked against the government, we cannot trust them," Ahir asserted.
The Supreme Court is hearing multiple petitions both in favour of and against deporting Rohingya Muslims, who have been fleeing Myanmar following its army's crackdown in the Rakhine state.
Nearly 40,000 Rohingya Muslims have taken refuge in India in the last five years, with most of them settling in Jammu, New Delhi, Punjab, and Rajasthan.
However, the latest exodus of the Muslim minority Rohingyas began on August 25, when the Myanmar army launched fresh offensive in Rakhine, following an attack by Rohingya rebels on multiple government posts.
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