Lucknow: Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani on Monday pointed the accusatory finger at Congress for the violence against migrant workers that had occured in his state last week.
Rupani is in Uttar Pradesh to invite Yogi Adityanath for the launch ceremony of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's 'Statue of Unity' at Narmada bank in Gujarat on October 31. Addressing a press conference, he took the opportunity to calm fears about workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar being targeted back home. "Gujarat govt has taken adequate steps to ensure the safety and security of non-Gujaratis in the state," he said. "We'll take legal action against the MLA who gave an inciting speech and we have also arrested all the people involved in the incident."
Rupani was referring to a speech made by Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor in which he said Gujaratis are not getting jobs in Gujarat because they are being taken by those from UP and Bihar. What followed were threats issued to many Hindi-speaking workers by Kshatriya Thakor Sena, leading a mass exodus of sorts. The entire incident stemmed from an arrest of a migrant worker on charges of raping a minor.
While Thakor has said migrants were not fleeing but returning home for Chhath Puja, the BJP has flayed Congress and asked the party to dismiss him. "Congress' efforts to incite violence in the state has failed. But I think Congress President Rahul Gandhi should take action. Congress' stand should be clear and the party should take proper action," said Rupani on Monday.
The political slugfest though has not been one-sided. While Rupani tore into Congress, he himself was shown black flags a day earlier - reportedly by youth workers of the Congress party in UP.
(With PTI inputs)
