Comments
Panicked by the political fallout of migrant workers fleeing Gujarat in large numbers Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Monday gave a public assurance of safety and security of these workers. Chief Secretary JN Singh held a high-level meeting to review the situation.
Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja told reporters that 56 cases have been registered against miscreants and 431 accused have been arrested. Seventeen companies of State Reserve Police (SRP) have been deployed at vulnerable places, including Sanand.
Cases registered
The police registered cybercrimes against miscreants in Ahmedabad, Mehsana and Gandhinagar for spreading rumours on social media against the migrants. The crime branch has registered cases against 70 people for spreading false messages and videos.
For the BJP, these developments come at an inopportune time as it faces Assembly elections in Hindi-speaking strongholds of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh next month.Most of these migrants hail from these States. Workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar also work in these districts in large numbers.
The wave of attacks against Hindi-speaking migrant workers across seven districts in the wake of the rape of a 14-month-old girl allegedly by a youth of Bihar origin in Sabarkantha district triggered the panic. Reportedly, angry locals began to threaten and target these ‘annual migrants’ in their residential, industrial and commercial areas.
Railway stations and bus stands in the seven districts — Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Ahmedabad-urban and Ahmedabad-rural, Gandhinagar, Aravalli and Surendranagar — remain flooded with migrants. The BJP government posted police around their workplaces, homes; and at railway stations and bus stops to persuade them to return.
Blaming Congress
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi alleged that “Congress-support” was behind the attacks, and blamed Congress MLA Alpesh Thakore. The police arrested Congress leader Mahotji Thakore in Gandhinagar, on Monday.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar reportedly spoke to Rupani and raised concerns about the safety of Bihari workers in Gujarat. Rupani acknowledged the contribution of migrant workers in the development of the State and appealed to the people to maintain harmony.
Gujarat Congress spokesman Manish Doshi claimed that the Rupani Government had lost control of law and order in the State. Patidar leader Hardik Patel and former JD(U) president Sharad Yadav also castigated the BJP.
Industrial loss
Industries in Gujarat fear loss due to these violent incidents ahead of the festival season. The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), in a letter to Rupani, requested the government to ensure safety of the migrant workers, who form a majority workforce.
“This season is a major business opportunity for industries, especially the MSMEs. Most businesses are running at full strength to meet the order deadlines, and such disruptions will cause a major dent to the momentum,” said Jaimin Vasa, president, GCCI.
These incidents surfaced 10 days after the Chief Minister’s announcement, making it mandatory for industries or service sector companies to provide 80 per cent jobs to Gujaratis, including 25 per cent to the locals from the related areas.
Ajit Shah, president, Sanand Industries Association said, “Out of the 25,000 workers, 15,000 are migrants. Of them, 4,000 have already fled to their native places. We have sheltered about 6,000 in a nearby village. We are trying to persuade them to return to work.” said .
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.