Bihar team visiting Tamil Nadu says situation normal for migrant workers
Several videos circulating on social media earlier this week had falsely claimed that daily wage workers from Bihar are being attacked in the southern state.
A four-member team of Bihar officials on Sunday said that they were satisfied with the steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government in ensuring the safety of migrant workers in the state, PTI reported.
The team, led by Bihar Rural Development Secretary D Balamurugan, made the statement after visiting Tirupur, where a high number of migrant workers are employed in the textile industries.
“The governments of Tamil Nadu and Bihar are making all efforts to ensure the safety of migrant workers,” Balamurugan said, according to the Hindustan Times.
Earlier this week, several videos were circulating on social media about purported attacks in Tamil Nadu on daily wage workers from Bihar and other northern states. The Tamil Nadu Police had said that the claims were fake.
Fact-checkers also pointed out that the videos shared are either of incidents that did not take place in the state or are unrelated to the false claims being made.
Citing the videos, the Bihar unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party had criticised the Nitish Kumar-led government, saying that it failed to protect migrant workers of the state.
Migrant workers in Tamil Nadu are as safe as in their native states and my government is steadfast in protecting their rights.
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) March 4, 2023
I warn of strict action against the Anti-Indian forces spreading hatred with the vile intention of disturbing the peace and harmony of our country. https://t.co/fiPMdzI4C0 pic.twitter.com/RfQSXlZrBS
Dismissing the rumours on March 4, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said that the workers are safe in the state. On the same day, the police also booked BJP’s Uttar Pradesh spokesperson Prashant Patel Umrao and the editor of the Hindi newspaper Dainik Bhaskar for spreading false information.
On Sunday, Balamurugan said that his team met officials of the Tamil Nadu government, including Tirupur District Collector S Vineeth, Police Commissioner Praveen Kumar, representatives of the textile industry and contractors who bring in workers from other states.
“The district administration has been taking confidence-building measures,” Balamurugan said, according to The Times of India. “There is no panic among guest workers now.”
Another official of the team reiterated that the videos circulating on social media were not from Tamil Nadu, reported the Hindustan Times.
“The situation is normal,” the official added. “A report on our visit would be submitted to the state government soon.”
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Explained: How disinformation and politics made migrant workers flee Tamil Nadu
