Gujarat Goes From Vibrant To Targeting Migrant

BY R.K.MISRA

 From Vibrant Gujarat to migrant Gujarat, this state of the Mahatma and now Modi has come full circle. What began as majoritarian politics through communal cleaving two decades ago has now turned into narrow regionalism with the singling out of migrants.

The mass exodus from Gujarat of people from the neighbouring  election- bound states of Madhya Pradesh and  Rajasthan besides Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar turned into a torrent recently, paralyzing trade, industry and  even home services at the very peak of business time- Diwali. And there is little hope of their return till very much after.

Industries in Gujarat are clearly fearful that this exodus will take a heavy economic toll. The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry President, Jaimin Vasa has shot off a letter to chief minister Vijay Rupani requesting him to ensure the safety of migrant workers who form the bulk of the work force in industries here.”This season is a major business opportunity for industries especially MSMEs. Most businesses are running at full strength to meet the order deadlines and such disruptions will cause a major dent to the momentum”, Vasa wrote.

Chief minister Vijay Rupani was quick to order his cops to act  even as he moved to assure the migrants who were fleeing in large numbers. Said  the chief minister  ,” the situation is under control. The Gujarat Police has been pro-actively deployed. We are committed to maintaining law and order, and people can call police in case of any  trouble. We appeal to the people for patience to allow law to take it’s own course".

The appeal failed to stem the outward flow. In fact, Rupani may have inadvertently fanned regionalism. The reverse migration began a fortnight after the chief minister’s announcement that it would be made mandatory for industries or service sector companies to provide upto 80 per cent jobs to locals, including 25 per cent to people from the related areas. Rupani had merely raised the percentage of reservation  and was doing no different from other governments before him.

 There is more than meets the eye in the sequence of events that panned out after  September 28 when a 14 month old girl belonging to an OBC Thakore community was raped in Sabarkantha district  of  north Gujarat , allegedly by a migrant worker of Bihari origin. The man was arrested within hours. There were incidents of violence targeting migrants but remained largely localized.

On October 6, the Election Commission announced dates for the polls in five states- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telengana and Mizoram. The same day, migrants from Hindi-speaking areas started to get targeted from north and central Gujarat and the trickle began. It was preceded by a social media campaign exhorting locals to get rid of  migrants. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but the same day, a national Hindi news channel released a pre-poll survey that pointed to the Congress being in an advantageous position  in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh.

Clearly for the BJP this is ill-timed. Most of the migrants are from these poll-bound states and are most likely to carry back unflattering tales of their ordeal in a saffron- ruled state. That  Rupani chose such an inopportune time to enhance  regional chauvinism and state that Gujarat will not part with its lions (which MP has been asking and the Supreme court has ordered) only adds to its woes. These  migrants had come in handy for the BJP to paint a rosy picture of its rule in Gujarat particularly in UP and Bihar when the party was vying for a pan-India position under chief minister Modi during the 2014 general elections. This will have repercussions now.

A panicky BJP has sought to pin the blame on  the Congress. Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Modi, Gujarat minister of state for Home, Pradipsinh Jadeja  and state BJP vice-president I.K.Jadeja  have been quick to point fingers at the Congress. ”We will not let peace be disturbed by a handful of elements who want to tarnish the image of the state”, said Pradipsinh Jadeja.

The Congress opposition reacted  with its Gujarat party chief Amit Chavda charging the BJP with orchestrating the violence with an eye on the forthcoming elections . ”It began as an emotional outburst of local emotions over the rape of a minor, but  thereafter, it has been fanned by the BJP,  which knows it  is  facing defeat in MP and Rajasthan. This is a conspiratorial attempt at fanning  petty regionalism for electoral gains,” he added.

After the Bihar deputy chief minister blamed the Congress and singled out Alpesh Thakore, AICC joint secretary for Bihar, retaliation was quick. The OBC Ekta Manch charged Gujarat deputy chief minister Nitin Patel with fanning the regional poison. As proof, they said Patel had opposed admission in medical colleges to students from outside the state. An old video of Patel  holding workers from  UP and Bihar  responsible for increased poverty in Gujarat, went viral. Thakore, on his part, has denied all allegations. ”What prevents the government from putting up relief camps for the workers?. Who is stopping BJP leaders from going to railway stations and bus depots to persuade the migrants to stay back”, he asked. He even went on a day long’sadbhavana’ fast in Ahmedabad. Thakore, patidar quota leader Hardik Patel and dalit leader Jignesh Mevani  are in the cross-hairs of the BJP. Clearly, the political slugfest between the  ruling BJP and the Congress opposition is at it’s peak.

Caught in the cross-fire after posters surfaced in Varanasi asking “Gujarati Narendra Modi to leave Banaras”, the Prime Minister is reported to have given a piece of his mind to Rupani and directed a two-man team to go to the state, besides  BJP national president Amit Shah.

With  migrant workers fleeing the state in a flood, using every possible conveyance, worry is writ large on the face of the chief ministers of the affected states. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and UP chief minister Adityanath are reported to have called up their Gujarat counterpart  to voice concern.

As push comes to shove in the “leave Gujarat” rush, the BJP government is cracking down even as it prepares for its magnum opus bi-annual event, the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit in January 2019. Over 500 people have been arrested, social media is being monitored and the cops are out in strength with 18 augmented companies of the State Reserve Police on guard. The  government has  approached the High Court for a fast track court to try out the accused in the alleged rape case and has provided a compensation of Rs 4.5 lakhs to the next of kin of the victim. Meanwhile the State Human Rights Commission chairperson Justice (retired) Abhilasha Kumari has sought a detailed report on the attack and exodus of migrants from the stare government within 20 days.

Migrant labour force is estimated to be about 20 lakhs in Gujarat. Over a lakh or more have left and the rush continues. Industry sources  say between 50 to 70 per cent of the labour force in most manufacturing industries including chemicals, dye-stuffs, plastics, textiles ceramics, auto parts and  component makers employ migrants. A top business leader of the state said: ”fanning flames- communal, chauvinistic, regional-comes easy to politicians, but it is the state,and it’s people who pay the economic and social costs.”

And the coming polls will give the results of this political game.