On October 8, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath spoke on the recent spate of attacks on the non-Gujarati migrants, mostly on those from Bihar and UP, in Gujarat. CM Yogi said that he spoke to the Gujarat CM who assured him that there has been no occurrence of violence in the last three days. He also said that people jealous of Gujarat’s development were spreading rumours of this kind.
“Those who do not want development spread rumours”
CM Adityanath said that he spoke over the phone with his Gujarat counterpart CM Vijay Rupani who assured him that the state government is taking measures to ensure the safety of all. CM Adityanath said, “Gujarat is a peace-loving state and a model of development. Those who do not have any issue (to criticise the state government) spread such rumours. Those who do not want development spread rumours.”
He further asked everyone to extend cooperation to the Gujarat government in maintaining peace and decorum. He also hailed the steps taken by the state in maintaining the same.
Bihar CM Nitesh Kumar, on Monday, said that he had also spoken to Vijay Rupani. He said, “Our government is aware and alert. I spoke to the Gujarat chief minister on Sunday. Our chief secretary and director general of police are also in touch with their counterparts in Gujarat.” He further said that while the criminal should be punished severely, a grudge should not be held against an entire state on account of a single incident.
Widespread violence and attacks on migrants began after a 14-month-old toddler was raped allegedly by a migrant worker from Bihar on September 28. These attacks were further fanned by false news and propaganda spread through social media. Till now, at least 400 people have been arrested and 35 FIRs have been registered.
Ground reports suggest otherwise
Is CM Yogi Adityanath’s statement about no attack taking place true? If one were to go by the reports coming in from Gujarat, more specifically from North Gujarat, it seems false. On October 8, CM Yogi said that there has been no incidence of violence in the last three days, that is from October 5 to October 7.
However, colonies of migrant workers in Sabarmati and Chandlodia were attacked on October 5, causing widespread panic and hysteria, as reported by The Times of India.
As reported by The Hindu, 19 separate cases of violence were reported from North Gujarat districts on October 6 alone. This had forced authorities to deploy extra force in localities where migrant workers live.
As reported by The Times of India, on October 7, a man from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh was attacked by at least 25 men, just 400 metres away from the Ghatlodia police station. The men were reportedly shouting “kill this man”. They ransacked his cart and even took Rs 3,000. 29-year-old Santosh Yadav had then immediately filed a complaint with Ghatlodia police station.
Apart from this, there have been continuous reports of migrants trying to flee the state for the fear of being attacked.
The Logical Indian take
Reportedly, fearing attacks, an estimated 50,000 North Indian migrant labourers and workers have fled from various parts of Gujarat since September 28.
It is not the first time CM Yogi Adityanath has attempted to downplay an incident. In past, during the infamous BRD hospital case, where more than 70 children died of oxygen shortage, even then he blamed the deaths on internal politics. He rejected the possibility of children dying from oxygen shortage. He had said, “I asked people there what actually the matter was, and was told there was nothing as such…And if the deaths were due to the lack of oxygen, then children put on the ventilators would have been the first to die. I said there must definitely be something. From where were the figures come from? Then it emerged it was internal politics.” However, later, an RTI revealed that children had indeed died of the oxygen shortage.
In April 2018, 13 school children and a van driver died after their vehicle crashed with a passenger train at an unmanned crossing in UP. Yogi Adityanath reportedly told the grieving protestors to ‘stop the drama’ (”nautanki band karo”).
The first step of solving a problem is recognising that it exists. Comments like this are not only insensitive but they also detrimental in a way to the whole process of ensuring justice. It is important that our leaders realise that they cannot afford to make stray and uninformed statements like these, given the kind of following they have.
