Rohingyas row: Sisodia, Tharoor slam govt over 'confusion'

New Delhi: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday said he has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging him to order a probe to ascertain on whose instructions the decision to shift Rohingya Muslims to apartments in the national capital was taken.

"We did not take any decision to shift Rohingya Muslims to flats. The Centre also says it didn't. Then who did it? Sisodia asked and demanded strict action against those behind the decision.

Addressing a press conference, Sisodia said he has also urged the home minister to make clear the Centre's stand on the issue of shifting of Rohingya Muslims.

Sisodia claimed the Home Ministry came out with a clarification on the issue on Wednesday only after Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's tweets on the move to shift Rohingyas was opposed by his Aam Aadmi Party and others.

Hours after Puri said that Rohingya refugees in the national capital will be shifted to flats for economically weaker section, the Union Home Ministry on Wednesday denied any such move and directed the Delhi government to ensure that "illegal foreigners" remain in detention centres pending their extradition.

It also said that the Delhi government "proposed to shift Rohingya Muslims to a new location".

Rejecting the Union Home Ministry's claim that it was the Delhi government's proposal, Sisodia had alleged on Wednesday the BJP-led Centre was "secretly" trying to give "permanent residence" to Rohingya refugees in the national capital.

Dont 'betray' Indian civilization: Tharoor

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday attacked the Centre on the row over the accommodation of Rohingyas here, saying this "confusion" in the government is a disgrace to a nation that has served on the executive committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Hours after Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that Rohingya refugees in the national capital will be shifted to flats for economically weaker section, the Union Home Ministry on Wednesday had denied any such move and directed the Delhi government to ensure that "illegal foreigners" remain in detention centres pending their extradition.

Slamming the government, Tharoor said this "confusion" in the Union government is a disgrace to a nation that has served on the executive committee of the UN agency -- UNHCR.

"We have a proud humanitarian tradition of welcoming & embracing refugees for millennia. BJP, please don't betray Indian civilization," he said in a tweet.

Tharoor also shared a media report on the minister's remarks and the government's denial.