BJP Tamil Nadu President Annamalai has been booked by the Chennai police for inciting violence and promoting enmity between two groups after rumours of attacks on migrant workers in the state. The case against him comes after the police booked BJP leader Prashant Umrao yesterday for the same charge. In the last week, several fake messages have been spread about attacks on Bihari migrants in Tamil Nadu.
Several videos were doing rounds on social media which alleged that migrant labourers were being beaten up brutally in Tamil Nadu. The state government of Tamil Nadu and Bihar have both issued a warning against spreading such messages. The Tamil Nadu police also issued a statement clarifying that Bihari migrant workers were not being attacked in Tamil Nadu. Many news channels allegedly misreported these misleading claims.
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Tamil Nadu Governor's assurance
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi sought to assuage any apprehensions of migrant workers in Tamil Nadu. The workers need not panic, the Raj Bhavan said in tweets posted in Tamil, English and Hindi.
"Governor urged the North Indian labourers in Tamil Nadu not to panic and feel insecure, as the people of Tamil Nadu are very nice and friendly, and the state government is committed to provide them security," Rj Bhavan said on its official Twitter handle.
A four-member team of officials from Bihar on Saturday left for Tamil Nadu to look into the allegations. According to the statement, the team will meet the Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police and other top officials of Tamil Nadu besides visiting Tiruppur district from where reports of attacks on Bihari migrants have surfaced.
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Notably, two members of the team, D Balamurugan and P Kannan, hail from Tamil Nadu and according to sources in the state government they have been chosen so that "internal feedback" could be obtained, without facing problems of language.
The Police Headquarters also released helpline numbers issued by the Tamil Nadu police. However, returnees from the southern state are saying though they have come back for Holi festivities and would not like to go back to work if the situation did not improve.
"I work as a carpenter. My earnings barely suffice to keep my body and soul together. The environment in Tamil Nadu has made the matters worse. I would not like to go back unless there is an improvement in the situation", said Vinod, who hails from Motihari.
(With PTI inputs)
