Rahul blames note ban, GST for Gujarat mayhem

Hitting out at the Gujarat government for the attack on migrants, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said such incidents were creating an atmosphere of fear and insecurity which was not good for business and economy.

In a Facebook post, Rahul said the attack on migrants in Gujarat was a result of the growing frustration and anger among youth due to the government’s inability to create jobs.

“The Government must act decisively, and do all it can to restore peace and to ensure the safety of every Indian,” the Congress president said.

He said across Gujarat, poor economic policies, demonetisation and poorly executed GST have devastated industry resulting in the shutting down of factories and industrial units, leading to massive unemployment.

“Amongst the youth, there is growing frustration and anger with the Government's inability to create jobs. This anger and frustration are being manifested in violent attacks on migrants, across the state of Gujarat,” Rahul said.

“The migrant workforce is critical to our economic growth. Attacks on them create an environment of fear and insecurity that isn't good for business and our economy,” the Congress president said.

For the past one week reports stated that hundreds of migrants, mostly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, were fleeing the state out of fear of attacks from local Gujaratis.

The attacks on migrant workers began after a 14-month-old girl was raped allegedly by a man hailing from Bihar.

According to reports, police said at least 342 people have been arrested in connection with the attacks on migrants.

The fleeing of migrants sparked off a war of words between the BJP and the Congress. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani hit out at the Congress for inciting violence against migrants.

Congress leader Alpesh Thakore’s outfit Kshatriya Thakore Sena has been accused of inciting violence against migrants. Thakore has rejected the allegations of inciting the attacks.