Rahul Gandhi blames GST and mass unemployment for violent attacks on migrant workers in Gujarat

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday blamed the Narendra Modi government for violent attacks on north Indian migrants in Gujarat. Rahul had earlier tweeted and blamed poverty and unemployment as the root causes of the situation in the state. “The system and the economy are both deteriorating. It is totally wrong to target expatriate workers. I will stand completely against it,” he had said. [caption id=“attachment_5327781” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Congress president Rahul Gandhi. PTI[/caption] A recent post on Rahul’s official Facebook page read: “Across Gujarat, poor economic policies, demonetisation and poorly executed GST have devastated industry resulting in the shutting down of factories and industrial units, leading to massive unemployment. Amongst the youth there is growing frustration and anger with the Government’s inability to create jobs. This anger and frustration is being manifested in violent attacks on migrants, across the state of Gujarat. The migrant workforce is critical to our economic growth. Attacks on them create an environment of fear and insecurity that isn’t good for business and our economy. The government must act decisively, and do all it can to restore peace and to ensure the safety of every Indian.” The Congress had earlier blamed Modi and Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani for the attacks and violence on migrant workers and said they should quit if they are unable to carry out their responsibilities. Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi alleged that the “politics of exclusion” had continued in Gujarat, while the concerned BJP chief ministers have done nothing to protect the interests of their constituents. A violent backlash in Gujarat against workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar following the arrest of a Bihari man — for allegedly raping a 14-month-old girl in the Sabarkantha district in September — had sparked an exodus of ‘migrant’ labourers in the state. According to several media reports, many workers belonging to northern Indian states boarded home-bound trains after some of them were targeted following the arrest of the suspect.