As exodus of people from the North East continued for the second day, the Centre swung into action and asked Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh to reach out to people and allay their fears.
The exodus began as panic was sparked by rumours of a possible fallout of the Assam violence on people from the region.
The Home Ministry also directed the monitoring of social networking sites and find out the origin of the SMSes that spread the rumours.
“Whoever is spreading rumours, we will catch them, we are following them,” Union Home Secretary, R K Singh, said.
Expressing concern over the exodus, Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, said all political parties must work together to give a feeling of confidence to the affected people of Assam violence.
He spoke to Karnataka Chief Minister, Jagadish Shettar, on phone and told both Shettar and the Home Minister, Sushilkumar Shinde, to ensure the safety of people from the North East in the State.
On Thursday, a group of Congress MPs from the North East met party chief, Sonia Gandhi, to express their concern and blamed “vested interests” for the rumours.
Two Assam-bound special trains ran on Wednesday night in addition to the regular service to clear the sudden rush of passengers triggered by the rumours.
‘Karnataka safe’
In Bangalore, the Karnataka Government assured the fleeing people of safety and launched confidence-building measures, including police patrolling in areas largely inhabited by them.
“The entire Government is with you. We will protect the interests of the North East people,” Shettar told representatives of organisations of people from N-E.
Muslim leaders call
Muslim leaders and Islamic organisations also appealed to North Easterners, especially students, to remain in Bangalore and not to believe the rumours.
“Don’t leave Bangalore, dear Assamese friends. We love you!” and “Bangalore is safe. No need to fear. Stay back” are some of the slogans on placards carried by about 50 members of the Students Islamic Organisation of India at the city railway station.
ULFA plea
In Guwahati, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) called upon companies from Andhra Pradesh and other States with business interests in Assam to use their influence to stop the exodus of students and professionals.
“We ask those companies with headquarters in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and other States to use their leverage with Governments in those states to help restore normalcy,” ULFA Vice Chairman, Pradip Gogoi, told PTI over phone.
“We need a consensus among all political parties to bring back peace to the trouble-torn areas of Assam. The visit of Central leaders has not resulted in any substantive improvement in the situation,” he added.