UP BJP spokesperson booked in TN over ‘migrant workers being killed’ tweet
Umrao was booked for allegedly creating enmity between the people based on region and language. Meanwhile, a Tamil Nadu police officer aware of the investigation said, “A team has been sent to arrest Umrao.”
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Uttar Pradesh spokesperson Prashant Patel Umrao was booked by Tamil Nadu police on Saturday for his now-deleted Tweet claiming “dozens of migrant Bihar workers were killed in Tamil Nadu,” a day after BJP leaders in Bihar assembly stalled the proceedings claiming that Bihari workers were being targeted in the state for speaking Hindi.
Umrao, who shared a photo of Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin wrote on Twitter, “12 migrants from Bihar were hung to death in Tamil Nadu for speaking in Hindi”. The Tweet was later deleted.
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Yadav was in Chennai last week to celebrate the 70th birthday of CM Stalin. Umrao said that despite the attacks on migrants, Yadav attended Stalin’s birthday celebrations.
Umrao was booked for allegedly creating enmity between the people based on region and language. Meanwhile, a Tamil Nadu police officer aware of the investigation said, “A team has been sent to arrest Umrao.”
In a statement, Stalin, who also spoke to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar denied any claims of targeted violence in the state.
In a separate action, Tamil Nadu police also booked the editor of a local newspaper for spreading enmity.
The online portal allegedly shared videos showing Bihar workers being beaten in Tamil Nadu. However, ‘fake video busters’ claimed the videos were old and were not from Tamil Nadu.
The police also registered a case against the editor of a prominent local newspaper and the proprietor of Tanvir Post for allegedly spreading enmity and provoking riots.
In the past week, several fake messages have been shared on WhatsApp about attacks on migrant workers from Bihar in the southern state, prompting the state government in Tamil Nadu and Bihar to issue a warning against such messages.
Amid this, CM Stalin issued a statement assuring the safety of migrant workers in Tamil Nadu. “Migrant workers need not fear. If anyone threatens you, call on the helpline. Tamil Nadu government and people will stand to protect our migrant brothers,” he said.
Meanwhile, district collectors in Tamil Nadu have issued appeals in Hindi asking migrant workers not to be scared or attacked.
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Over the alleged incidents, Nitish Kumar on Saturday said every claim of the attack will be verified. “We have sent our officers to Tamil Nadu to verify. I have spoken to the chief minister,” Kumar said.
On Friday, the governments of Bihar and Jharkhand decided to send a team of officials to Tamil Nadu to verify the claims of migrant workers from the two states being targeted there.
On Thursday, Tamil Nadu director general of police (DGP) Sylendra Babu also refuted reports of attacks on migrants from the north and dubbed two videos purportedly showing Bihari workers being allegedly attacked as “false and malicious.”
The issue had rocked the Bihar assembly for two days with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claiming Bihari workers were being targeted in Tamil Nadu.
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