People Going for Chhath, Says Alpesh Thakor After His Sena is Accused of Driving Out Migrants From Gujarat
Congress president Rahul Gandhi blamed poverty and unemployment for the cycle of violence in Gujarat.
New Delhi, October 9, 2018: Congress leader Alpesh Thakor, who heads an organization accused of spearheading attacks on migrants in Gujarat, has issued an appeal to those who have left to return promising protection by Kshatriya Thakor Sena.
“All this is being done to defame Gujarat. People are leaving for Chhath festival. I appeal to them to return to the state,” said Thakor in an interview to CNN-News18.
The attacks on migrants in north-Gujarat were triggered by the rape of a 14-month-old girl. Some members of Thakor Sena, an OBC outfit in Gujarat led by Alpesh, were arrested by the police in connection with the violence following the arrest of the accused in the rape case.
The victim belongs to the Thakor community. Police have arrested Ravindra Sahu, a labourer hailing from Bihar and working in a local ceramic factory, for the crime.
“There are 2.5 crore Thakore in Gujarat. I had called the home minister of Gujarat went the first incident happened, and had also communicated to CM, DG and IG. None of my office bearers are involved. This is just politics against us,” Thakor said denying allegations of involvement in the attacks.
Alpesh is also in-charge of Bihar along with fellow Gujarat leader Shaktisinh Gohil.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi blamed poverty and unemployment for the cycle of violence in Gujarat.
Countering Rahul’s charge, Gujarat CM, in a series of tweets, urged the Congress chief to not indulge in blame game but rather “take action against its own members who incited violence”.
<iframe src=”/vod_player.cms?msid=66132351&videosection=video-show&source=videoshow&section=News” mozallowfullscreen=”true” webkitallowfullscreen=”true” allowfullscreen=”true” style=”width:642px;height:481px;background-color:#000000;”></iframe>
Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani on Monday urged migrant workers to return to the state as widespread attacks on them sparked an exodus, prompting the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to express concern.
Since the alleged rape of a 14-month-old girl in Sabarkantha district on September 28, six districts — most of them in north Gujarat — have witnessed sporadic incidents of violence against Hindi-speaking people, police said. Police have arrested Ravindra Sahu, a labourer hailing from Bihar and working in a local ceramic factory, for the crime.
However, the backlash against the incident has singed the entire migrant community, with Uttar Bharatiya Vikas Parishad president Maheshsingh Kushwah claiming that over 20,000 people belonging to UP, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar had already fled Gujarat.
Keeping in mind the gravity of the situation, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar spoke to Rupani and voiced their concerns regarding the incident.
