PATNA: Amid reports of Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin's conversation with his counterpart Nitish Kumar in Bihar, a four-member special team left for DMK-ruled state to assist those Bihar's migrant workers who wanted to return to their home town in the wake of alleged attack on them. The Tamil Nadu police chief, however, denied any such attack in that state.
Highly placed sources in the state secretariat said that Tamil Nadu chief minister had a telephonic conversation with Nitish over the situation arising out of the alleged attack on Bihar's migrant workers. What transpired between the two leaders could not be immediately known but it is expected that the two had discussed about the reports of attacks on Bihar's migrant workers.
On Friday, Nitish constituted a four-member committee that will travel to Tamil Nadu to take stock of the situation.
“As soon as I got to know through newspapers, I directed the officials to look into the matter. They talked with the Tamil Nadu government and reported that a special team should be sent from here,” Nitish said, adding that the visiting team will also look into the matter thoroughly.
D Balamurugan, secretary, rural development department, Shree Alok, special secretary of labour resources department, and two IPS officers P Kannan and Santosh Kumar are part of the visiting team who will submit the report to the chief minister on their return. It is learnt that Balamurugam and Kannan are from Tamil Nadu.
“The team has already left for Tamil Nadu on CM's directive,” Bihar chief secretary Amir Subhani said.
A day earlier, a delegation of BJP leaders led by leader of Opposition in Bihar assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha had called on Nitish and sought his intervention into alleged atrocities against Bihar's migrant workers in Tamil Nadu. Nitish had assured the delegation that action would be initiated by government to ensure safety and security to Bihar's migrant workers staying in Tamil Nadu.
On the other hand, Tamil Nadu DGP Sylendra Babu claimed that the videos circulated on social media were fake.
The DGP had also warned of stern action against those involved in circulating fake and doctored videos on social media to spread hatred in the society and create confusion between the two state governments.
Bihar's deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had gone to Tamil Nadu to attend a function held on the occasion of birthday of chief minister M K Stalin. Tejashwi, however, attacked by Opposition BJP for taking part in birthday celebration of Stalin and not paying heed to grievances of migrant workers of the state.
Meanwhile, Bihar police headquarters has released a helpline number for migrant workers stuck in Tamil Nadu.
Complaint against Stalin, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav
A complaint petition has been filed in a court against Tamil Nadu's chief minister M K Stalin and deputy chief minister of Bihar Tejashwi Prasad Yadav in connection with alleged attack on Bihar's migrant workers in the past couple of days, leaving the latter's family members in a state of shock.
The petition has been filed in the court of chief judicial magistrate, Muzaffarpur by advocate Manoj Kumar Singh on behalf of Ved Prakash, district chief of Jan Adhikar Party. The petitioner alleged that several workers were brutally thrashed, leading to death of two and injuries to many others.
The court has fixed March 18 as the date of the hearing.