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Tamil Nadu BJP chief booked for fanning disharmony amid rumours of targeted attacks on migrants
Although state BJP president K Annamalai had tweeted on Saturday that fake news was spreading and Tamil people do not endorse hatred against north Indians, he had said the ruling DMK has made vile comments against north Indians that has led to the current situation.
Chennai: Tamil Nadu police on Sunday registered cases against state Bharatiya Janata Party president K Annamalai and Twitter handle @BJP4Bihar for posting unverified information amid rumours of attacks on migrant workers, an official said.
Although Annamalai had tweeted on Saturday that fake news was spreading and Tamil people do not endorse hatred against north Indians, he had said the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has made vile comments against north Indians that has led to the current situation.
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After a case was filed against him, Annamalai tweeted a video of DMK leaders, including chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin, allegedly speaking against north Indians.
“I understand DMK has filed cases against me for exposing their 7-decade propaganda against North Indian brothers,” Annamalai tweeted. “I challenge Fascist DMK to arrest me!”
The DMK said Annamalai shared a doctored video clip. “Ask BJP handles to stop spreading rumours,” DMK spokesperson A Saravanan said.
The cyber crime division of greater Chennai police lodged cases under four sections of the Indian Penal Code, 153, 153A(1)(a), 505(1)(b), and 505(1)(c), which deal with promoting disharmony, enmity, and feelings of hatred between different groups.
The division booked another Twitter handle called @BJP4Bihar under sections 153A(1)(a), 505(1)(b) and 505(2). The handle describes itself as the official handle of the BJP unit in Bihar, and is followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.
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The development comes a day after Sylendra Babu, the state’s director general of police, had told HT that five first information reports were filed on Saturday on this issue against BJP leader and Supreme Court advocate Prashant Umrao and Dainik Bhaskar newspaper’s editor, Mohammed Tanveer.
Thoothukudi police booked Umrao under sections 153, 153A, 504, 505 (i)(b) 505 (i)(c), 505(2), which deal with offences such as promoting enmity and disharmony between different groups on grounds of religion, race, language. The editor of Dainik Bhaskar was charged under sections 153A, 505 (i)(b).
Chief minister Stalin as well as police had clarified there were no attacks on migrant workers and false videos were being circulated.
Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi on Sunday also reassured migrant labourers that they were safe in the state. “Governor urged the North Indian labourers in Tamil Nadu not to panic and feel insecure, as the people of Tamil Nadu are very nice and friendly, and the state government is committed to provide them security,” the Raj Bhavan tweeted on Sunday.
The governments of Tamil Nadu and Bihar are in touch over the issue. A team of four comprising bureaucrats and police from Bihar have been in Tamil Nadu since Saturday to ascertain the truth. A meeting was held on Sunday in Tiruppur district, where a large number of migrant workers are employed in the garment industry.
“We are talking to migrant workers, and also in touch with labour contractors here. You should not pay heed to rumours and fake videos,” D Balamurugan, Bihar’s rural development secretary, said at a media briefing in Tiruppur. “Tamil Nadu and Bihar governments are taking all efforts for the safety of migrant workers.”
