BJP Regrets Reference to Immigrants, Brings edited version

New Delhi, Feb 4 (IANS) The BJP Wednesday again regretted using the word "immigrant" for people from the northeast, calling it an "inadvertent mistake".

"Due to an inadvertent mistake the word immigrant was used in the Vision Document. The party regrets this," Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said here Wednesday.

"The word immigrant was used in the heading, but the paragraph ahead used the word migrant," he said.

"Our brothers and sisters from northeast are proud citizens of India wherever they are. BJP walks an extra mile to ensure their safety and this mistake is regretted," said Prasad, the communication and information technology minister.

On Tuesday, the BJP released its Vision Document for Saturday's Delhi election. It carried a paragraph promising security of people from northeast, the heading for which said: "North eastern immigrants to be protected".

"Special cells in all police stations and special 24-hour helpline numbers to be set up for the protection of the northeastern migrants. To safeguard the students of north east origin, special guardianship will be arranged with local families for them," the document added.

The special reference to people from the northeast in the party's Vision Document found mention as there have been many incidents of attacks on people from the region in Delhi.

But an edited version was published on the BJP website Wednesday with the word "immigrants" removed as well as the reference to "migrants" in the subsequent elaboration.

The heading was changed to "People from the North East in Delhi to be protected".

"Special cells in all police stations and special 24 hour helpline numbers to be setup for the protection of the North Eastern People living in Delhi," the edited version said.

"To safeguard the Students of N.E. (northeast) origin, special guardianships will be arranged with local families for them," it added.