BJP leader blames Congress for attacks on migrants in Gujarat

The Mumbai unit of the BJP Tuesday held the Congress responsible for the mass exodus of Hindi- speaking migrants from Gujarat after attacks on them following a rape incident.

Amarjeet Mishra, Mumbai BJP general secretary, claimed the violence erupted only after Congress MLA from Gujarat Alpesh Thakor "incited" locals in attacking Hindi-speaking migrants.

"The Congress party is responsible for what is happening in Gujarat. This hate-mongering party instigates and patronises leaders like Raj Thackeray in Maharashtra and Alpesh Thakor in Gujarat to terrorise migrants," he said.

"It is the style of the Congress party to nurture and nourish such leaders whose politics is based on violence," Mishra alleged.

A video in which Thakor is purportedly seen making a speech against migrant workers has gone viral and allegedly led to the violence against the Hindi-speaking population.

As many as 450 people have been arrested and 56 FIRs registered after violence broke out following the rape of a 14-month-old girl from the Thakor community in Sabarkantha district for which a migrant worker from Bihar was arrested.

Shyam Singh Thakur, president of the Uttar Bhartiya Vikas Parishad, an outfit of north Indians in Gujarat, said more than 60,000 Hindi-speaking migrant labourers have fled the state so far.