New Delhi: A day after the BJP drew flak over a “typographical error” of referring to people from the northeast as “immigrants” in its Vision Document, Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended his party and decried attempts to rake up the issue for political mileage.
“Attempts are being made to provoke people from the northeast… a mistake was made and the party accepted it,” Modi said addressing an election rally in Ambedkar Nagar in south Delhi.
“No one should play with the unity of the country for political benefits,” he said.
Modi said he has visited the Northeastern states many times and the BJP-led Central government would develop the region “more than what has happened in the past 60 years”.
The Prime Minister’s comments came as the BJP termed the issue an “inadvertent mistake” and regretted it.
“Due to an inadvertent mistake the word immigrant was used in the Vision Document. The party regrets this,” BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday.
“The word ‘immigrant’ was used in the heading, but the paragraph ahead used the word migrant,” he said at a press conference.
“Our brothers and sisters from the northeast are proud citizens of India wherever they are. The BJP walks an extra mile to ensure their safety and this mistake is regretted,” said Prasad, who is also the communication and information technology minister.
BJP spokesperson M.J. Akbar also expressed regret over the error.
“We regret deeply and I want to reassure all our brothers and sisters of the northeast that everyone from there in Delhi is as valuable, as important to the BJP as any other citizen of Delhi,” Akbar said.
On Tuesday, the BJP released its Vision Document for the Feb 7 assembly election where a section said: “North eastern immigrants to be protected.” (IANS)
