Tamil Nadu: The “lies spread” regarding assaults on migrant workers in the state is a fallout of his recent call for opposition unity to dislodge the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre next year, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has alleged.
A Facebook user had shared a video of an overcrowded passenger train, claiming that migrants from Bihar were returning to their home state in large numbers from Tamil Nadu. However, a fact check showed that the train travels between Patna and Barka Kana in Jharkhand and not between Tamil Nadu and Bihar as the social media post claimes.
Earlier too, a social media post showed a purported clipping of a Hindi newspaper, claiming that it reported the alleged killing of the Hindi-speaking migrant labourers in Tamil Nadu. However, this had also turned out to be fake, according to a fact check.
"People have been making fake videos and spreading lies"
No migrant worker in the state has been assaulted as alleged, Stalin asserted in his "Ungalil Oruvan" question and answer series. Many such workers were employed in Tamil Nadu for a long time and have never faced any problem, the chief of the ruling DMK said.
“Some people have been making fake videos and spreading lies. The BJP functionaries in north India have done this with an agenda. You will understand the conspiracy behind doing so if you notice that such lies were spread the very day after I highlighted the need for political organisations opposed to the BJP to join hands at the national level," he said.
Opposition unity to defeat the BJP in 2024
Stalin had, at a rally held to mark his birthday on March 1, stressed for opposition unity to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The rally was attended by several leaders including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The chief minister said that soon after he received information about the alleged attacks, he enquired if the migrant workers were targeted anywhere in the state and it emerged that it was not the case.
“I have informed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that not even a small irritation has been caused (to the workers)," he said, adding that the official delegation from Bihar, which had visited Tamil Nadu over the issue, has returned with “satisfaction”.
