Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said on Saturday that once all evidence is in, action would be taken against those responsible for instigating violence against north Indians in Gujarat.
Without naming anyone, he said, “A certain Congress MLA who has formed an organisation of people of his caste is responsible for beating people from north India. His workers thrashed people from other States in the industrial areas of Gujarat.”
‘Situation under control’
Mr. Patel said, “An atmosphere of fear was created due to which many Hindi-speaking workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar left the State [Gujarat]. Our government has taken all steps to control the situation. Culprits who sent out threats on social media have been arrested. FIRs have been filed. The police and citizens have foiled the attempt of the Congress to spread unrest.”
The Gujarat Deputy CM was in Mumbai to extend invitation to Maharashtra Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to attend the inauguration of Sardar Patel’s statue on October 31 .
The BJP in Gujarat has accused Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor and his outfit Kshatriya Thakor Sena (KTS) for the recent violence following the rape of 14-month-old girl by a migrant worker in North Gujarat. Several KTS members have been arrested for the violence.
Gathering evidence
Asked why the State government has yet not been able to arrest the Congress MLA, if the information of his alleged activities is available with the authorities, Mr. Patel said evidence was being collected. “Once we gather the evidence the arrest will be made,” he said, adding that his party believes in national integrity.
When asked whether the lack of jobs and economic disparity among locals is the reason behind violence against outsiders and does this prove the failure of the Gujarat model, Mr. Patel said that Gujarat is a growth engine of the world. “People come wherever employment is available. They come to Gujarat because we have employment opportunities. We have the capacity to give jobs and it is because of the ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ campaign initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.
On the claim that Sardar Patel’s ‘Statue of Unity’ would be the tallest in the world at 182 metres, and that a similar claim was being made by the Maharashtra government on the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue to come up in the Arabian Sea, Mr. Patel said, “It isn’t right to compare two great personalities of this nation. We shouldn’t engage in such competition.”
