Stalin hits out at BJP on migrant rumours; JD(U) joins in: bid to browbeat Oppn

In Patna, the JD(U), too, hit out at the BJP, accusing it of spreading “rumours” of attacks on migrant workers in Tamil Nadu to allegedly cause a rift between the two states and to “browbeat Opposition parties”.

“The BJP spread rumours on migrants and tried to cause tension and rift between Tamil Nadu and Bihar. But what happened? None of the incidents of assault were true. A team from Bihar visited Tamil Nadu for a probe and their government also looked into it… but not a single incident was reported,” said JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh a.k.a. Lalan Singh.

In his statement on Thursday, Stalin said, “On noticing these fake reports, I inquired and informed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that there were no incidents of workers being affected anywhere in Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu state DGP also issued a detailed statement. A delegation of Bihar officials who visited Tamil Nadu had also returned satisfied with the peaceful environment here,” Stalin said, adding that Tamil Nadu is known for being welcoming of outsiders and helping them thrive in the state.

“Tamil Nadu and Tamils value unity and brotherhood, and our motto is ‘All towns are ours, and everyone is our kith and kin [a verse from Purananooru, a Tamil classic from Sangam literature]. North Indian brothers who live here are well aware of this,” Stalin said.

Though Thursday’s statement was the first time that Stalin had directly named the BJP, accusing the party of spreading “fake news”, on Tuesday, at a function to unveil the statue of late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi in Nagercoil, he had made a veiled attack, asserting that some forces were attempting to topple his government by triggering “caste and communal riots”.

At a public rally organised by the DMK in Chennai on March 1, Stalin had called for the unconditional unity of all Opposition parties in India to defeat the BJP government in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. On Thursday, Stalin pointed out that rumours of migrants coming under attack began soon after.

A high-level committee headed by Bihar Rural Development Secretary D Balamurugan had visited Tamil Nadu, during which they met with state Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu and interacted with migrant labourers from Bihar in Tirupur and Coimbatore. The state government also shared a status report with the visiting delegation.

Besides speaking to Nitish Kumar on the phone, on Tuesday, Stalin sent DMK parliamentary party leader T R Baalu to meet his Bihar counterpart and brief him on the steps taken to instill confidence among migrant labourers in Tamil Nadu.

The same day, Stalin visited a factory in Tirunelveli district and interacted with migrant labourers from Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.