Ulterior political motive behind fake videos on migrants: CM

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday suggested that the BJP was behind spreading fake videos that showed Bihari migrants in the state were being attacked, saying their “agenda” could be understood as the narrative was spread just a day after he pitched for Opposition unity.

Stalin, who stepped in more than once to allay fears of the migrant workers after fake videos went viral creating panic among them, also said Tamil Nadu and Tamils always stood for unity and brotherhood and maintained that everyone in the state live in peace and harmony.

Answering questions as part of the Ungalil Oruvan (One Among You) series, Stalin said people from different states have been living in Tamil Nadu for decades together and that they never faced any problems.

“For the past few years, a lot of people have come to Tamil Nadu in search of jobs, and they didn’t have issues anywhere in the state. But some people created fake videos (showing that migrants are being attacked). BJP functionaries from north Indian states sharing the videos and spreading the false narrative reveals their ulterior motives,” Stalin said.

“One can understand their agenda if you notice that the lies were spread the very next day I stressed upon the necessity for all parties opposed to the BJP come together on one platform,” the DMK chief added. He was referring to his speech on March 1 in which he pitched for Congress as the fulcrum of the national alliance against BJP and dismissed talks of a Third Front as “pointless.”

As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, Stalin said, everyone would agree that the state follows the “lofty ideals” like everyone is born equal, all are our kith and kin. The Chief Minister said Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) made it clear that there was no attack against migrant labourers in the state, while a high-level team from Bihar expressed satisfaction after meeting migrants from the state in Coimbatore and Tiruppur.

On BJP’s victory in the assembly elections in the north-east, Stalin said the saffron party, which has won through election strategies, talks only about its success in Nagaland, and Tripura but fails to open its mouth on Meghalaya, where it lost.

“They construct such an image to show as if they are winning (all) elections. Polarisation, social engineering, media management. If one understands the meaning of these terms, they can understand the electoral win of the BJP,” Stalin said.

He also condemned the arrest of former deputy chief minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, saying it was a “classic example” of BJP threatening the Opposition parties directly, and not even indirectly. “They misuse all the investigating agencies at their disposal only for political activities. One can defeat opposition parties through elections not through investigating agencies,” Stalin added.