Tamil Nadu authorities on Friday warned against spreading rumours about attacks on migrant workers from Bihar in the southern state.
After the rumours triggered panic among workers, the Bihar government decided to send a team of senior officials to Tamil Nadu, the Hindustan Times reported.
Tamil Nadu Labour Welfare Minister CV Ganesan said that action will be taken against those spreading such news. “I want to say that in Tamil Nadu not only the workers of North India, but the workers of all the states are working peacefully and efficiently without any fear,” he said in a statement.
Tamil Nadu Director General of Police Sylendra Babu also said that videos circulating on social media showing alleged attacks on migrant labourers were mischievous.
“Two videos are posted and both are false videos,” he said. “These two incidents happened earlier in Tiruppur and Coimbatore. In both cases, the clash was not between Tamil Nadu people and migrant workers. One was a clash between two groups of Bihar migrant workers and another video was a clash between two local residents of Coimbatore.”
The police said that strict action would be initiated against those sharing fake videos.
The Tamil Nadu Police also alerted social media users that a video claiming that “Hindi speaking people from Bihar are being assaulted by Tamil speaking people of Tamil Nadu” was not correct.
Tiruppur Superintendent of Police G Shasank Sai told The Indian Express that the authorities have set up a separate cell for workers to reach out. “So far, we have received 35 calls from the workers over videos and other issues, and we have been addressing their grievances,” he added.
The matter also led to heated scenes in the Bihar Assembly on Friday. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav challenged the opposition Bhartiya Janata Party to approach the Centre if they were not satisfied with responses of governments of the two states.
“You keep chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai...Is Tamil Nadu not a part of Bharat Mata?” he asked while making a statement.
About a video that Leader of the Opposition Vijay Kumar Sinha showed on his mobile phone, Yadav asked, “How did you come to know it is of Bihari workers under attack from local Tamils? The only way we can ascertain it is by checking the matter with the authorities there.”
Opposition leaders criticised Yadav for attending Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s birthday function in Chennai earlier this week despite alleged attacks on migrant workers from Bihar.
“These people are obviously not interested in facts,” Yadav said during his statement. “It is their wont to spread rumours. Only a few days ago they disrupted House proceedings over the arrest of the father of an army jawan, who was killed in action. It now turns out that the father has been arrested in connection with a case lodged by a neighbour.”
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