MoS Home questions Varun Gandhi's stand on Rohingya Muslims

Hitting on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Varun Gandhi for urging the government to consider granting the refugee status to Rohingyas from Myanmar, Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir on Tuesday said that a leader who thinks in the 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 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.

Contradicting his own party's stand, Gandhi wanted the government to consider granting refugee status to Rohingyas from Myanmar.

He expressed his opinion on the issue in an article and called for a national refugee policy, which differentiates between people fleeing a country following persecution as opposed to those fleeing poverty.

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. 

-ANI