People of TN will always protect migrant labourers: Stalin

'People who are spreading rumours that migrant labourers are being attack in Tamil Nadu are against the country,' he said

Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday stepped in to hand out an assurance to migrant labourers from north India that his government and people of Tamil Nadu will continue to “protect them” as they form an integral part of the state’s growth story, in the wake of rumours that migrant labourers were being killed here.

The Tamil Nadu Police also booked two journalists from Dainik Bhaskar and Tanveer Post and Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesperson Prashant Umrao under various sections of the IPC and Information Technology Act for sharing unrelated videos and spreading rumours on social media that migrant labourers were beheaded in the state. A special team has also been formed to nab the three, whom the police said, are “absconding.”

Stalin, in a four-page statement, described those spreading rumours that migrant labourers in Tamil Nadu were unsafe as “people who are against India and its integrity” while explaining in detail how Tamil people have always welcomed migrants from different parts of the country and integrated them into the society here. He also detailed the efforts taken by the state government to protect migrant labourers during the Covid pandemic.

“People who are spreading rumours that migrant labourers are being attacked in Tamil Nadu are against the country and its integrity. It is condemnable that some people have stopped to such a low for political gains by creating an issue that never existed. The government and the people will protect our labourer brothers,” Stalin said.

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Stalin’s statement comes a day after Labour Minister C V Ganesan and Tamil Nadu police categorically refuted rumours about migrant labourers being killed and attacked in Tamil Nadu. The Chief Minister also spoke to his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar to brief him about the situation and give an assurance that migrant labourers are as safe as ever in the state.

Several media outlets also aired visuals of migrant labourers heading back to their native towns and villages for the Holi festival and inferring that they were fleeing Tamil Nadu. It all began with people in north India tweeting unrelated videos of people being beaten up and killed with a caption that at least a dozen migrant labourers from Bihar were beheaded in Tamil Nadu, triggering panic.

Many Twitter handles tweeted videos and pictures claiming that Biharis are unsafe in Tamil Nadu. Fact checker Mohammed Zubair has also called out several handles for spreading rumours about migrant labourers being attacked in the state.

The police announced a helpline asking migrant labourers to get in touch in case of any difficulties, while the South Indian Mills Association (SIMA) and Tamil Nadu Hoteliers Association issued separate statements reinforcing their faith in migrant workers and terming them as an “integral part” of the state.

Superintendent of Police (SPs) in districts like Tiruppur and Krishnagiri which employ lakhs of migrant labourers took to social media to warn action against people spreading rumours.