Gujarat migrants' exodus: Congress says Centre must sack Vijay Rupani, impose President's Rule

New Delhi: The Congress on Friday demanded that Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani should be sacked and President’s Rule be imposed, claiming that law and order had collapsed in the BJP-ruled state following large-scale attacks on north Indians. Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil, at a press meet in New Delhi, alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs and leaders were part of a preconceived conspiracy to fuel attacks against north Indians in the aftermath of the rape of a 14-month-old girl in Sabarkantha district on 28 September. It was under a “BJP conspiracy” that north Indians were attacked and no true Gujarati would approve of such incidents, he said. [caption id=“attachment_5113151” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil. Twitter@ShaktisinhGohil[/caption] “(Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji is a Gujarati. He wins election from Uttar Pradesh (Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency). Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra have contributed immensely in his electoral triumph. He should immediately sack Vijay Rupani,” the Congress spokesperson said. Pointing out that there was a massive exodus of north Indians from Gujarat and 165 FIRs were filed in connection with related incidents, he said, “It means law and order has collapsed and President’s Rule should be imposed.” Gohil also defended Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor, who is facing the heat over the violence against Hindi-speaking migrants in Gujarat, saying after his initial statement, he had made a lot of efforts to maintain harmony and peace and stop such attacks. He said Thakor’s initiatives for ensuring amity between people came after Congress president Rahul Gandhi spoke to him over the issue. Sources said Rahul “warned and reprimanded” Thakor for his inflammatory statement, after which the Congress MLA toned down his language. Gohil, however, condemned Thakor’s initial statement, saying the Congress party’s stand was very clear that no one had the right to take law in their hands and there should be harmony between the people of different communities and regions. He also demanded action against BJP MLAs for fuelling anger against north Indians in Gujarat. After the rape of the 14-month-old girl in Sabarkantha district and arrest of a labourer hailing from Bihar for the crime, six districts in Gujarat have seen incidents of violence against Hindi-speaking migrant workers. The attacks have led to an exodus of an estimated over 60,000 migrants, mostly from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.