Bihar authorities to arrive Tamil Nadu to look into allegations of attacks on migrants

A four-member team of officials from Bihar is set to arrive in Tamil Nadu to investigate allegations of attacks on migrant workers, which the southern state has denied. Responding to questions in Patna, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the decision to send the team was taken after discussions that took place over several days.

“I first read about this matter the day before yesterday in the newspaper and asked the officials to liaise with their counterparts in Tamil Nadu. Yesterday, they said it would be good if we send a team to that state to get first-hand information. Orders have been issued accordingly,” he said.

According to a statement issued by the police headquarters, the team comprises D Balamurugan, Secretary of Rural Development, P Kannan, Inspector General of Police (CID), Alok Kumar, Labor Commissioner and Santosh Kumar, SP, Special Task Force. According to the statement, the team will meet the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police and other top officials of Tamil Nadu besides visiting Tiruppur district from where reports of attacks on Bihar migrants have emerged.

In particular, two members of the team, D Balamurugan and P Kannan, are from Tamil Nadu and, according to sources in the state government, were selected so that “internal feedback” could be obtained without facing language problems. The police directorate also released helpline numbers issued by the Tamil Nadu police, although the southern state's DGP recently issued a statement saying reports in a section of the media about attacks on migrants were “misleading and malicious”.

However, returnees from the southern state share their plight with reporters at railway stations, saying that although they have returned for Holi celebrations, they would not like to return to work if the situation does not improve. “I work as a carpenter. My earnings are barely enough to keep body and soul together. The environment in Tamil Nadu made the situation worse. I would not want to come back unless the situation improves,” said Vinod, who hails from Motihari.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday assured his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar that all migrant workers were safe in the state and said swift action would be taken against rumors. Stalin said he spoke to Nitish Kumar on phone and assured him that nothing would happen to the workers, telling him that “all the workers are our workers who are helping the growth of Tamil Nadu and nothing will happen to affect them, I assured him”. 

Stalin said, “These rumors being spread that workers from other states are being attacked in Tamil Nadu are against the Indian nation, they violate the national integrity. Some doing cheap politics over what is not an issue is condemnable.” He asserted that strict legal action would be taken against those spreading panic through rumors. Some incidents that happened outside Tamil Nadu were spread by falsely claiming that such incidents occurred in TN, he said.

On March 2, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asked officials to look into reports of attacks on migrant workers in Tamil Nadu and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav faced criticism from the opposition BJP for visiting TN. Saffron Party's Bihar unit chief Sanjay Jaiswal claimed that Biharis were being “killed” in Tamil Nadu.