Sushil Kumar Modi slams Alpesh Thakor over attacks on migrant workers

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi Tuesday slammed Gujarat Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor on the issue of recent attacks on Hindi speaking migrants in the state saying that people of the country have the right to work in whichever state they wantHe also said the OBC leader Thakor does not have the courage to visit Bihar after attacks on migrants in Gujarat Modi was referring to the exodus of Hindispeaking migrant workers from Gujarat last month after some of them were attacked allegedly by members of Kshatriya Thakor Sena an outfit led by Alpesh ThakorHowever Thakor hit back at Modi saying he was trying to divide the society by indulging in dirty politics to get votes Thakor who represents Radhanpur seat was appointed by the Congress as the coincharge of Bihar in August Speaking to reporters during his visit to the recentlyunveiled Statue of Unity dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel here Modi said Thakors attempts to improve his image would go in vainIts too late for him to improve his image The way he treated the Hindispeaking migrants in Gujarat he does not have the courage to come to Bihar Modi said People of this country have the right to work in any state they want Though I believe that locals should get a preference in jobs ultimately a citizen is free to work anywhere in this country he saidHe added that just like a Gujarati community is spread across the world people from Bihar have settled in Gujarat Maharashtra and other states Reacting to Modis charge Thakor claimed that the BJP leader was trying to divide the people for electoral gains Modi is doing dirty politics to get votes He is trying to break the unity Migrant workers of Gujarat are not my enemies they are my brothers I am fighting for their rights But the BJP leader is projecting me as their enemy which is not true said ThakorParts of Gujarat witnessed violence against Hindispeaking migrants after a labourer from Bihar was arrested for allegedly raping a 14monthold girl in Sabarkantha district in September last week During the weeklong unrest mostly in north and central Gujarat the perpetrators had also targeted some factories alleging that industries prefer giving jobs to migrants instead of localsMeanwhile during his visit to the Statue of Unity Modi got stuck in the elevator for about a minute due to a technical snag officials said Modi along with Gujarat Energy minister Saurabh Patel got stuck inside the one of the two elevators which take tourists to the viewing gallery situated at a height of 135 meters inside the 182meter tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel near Kevadia in Narmada districtAccording to R G Kanungo Superintending Engineer Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd SSNL the elevator got stuck for a while due to overcrowding The issue was resolved after some persons mostly media personnel and policemen were asked to alight he said It was a minor technical fault It can happen anywhere Important thing is that thousands of tourists are coming here and appreciate this imposing structure Modi told reportersThe 182meter tall statue touted as the tallest in the world and built near the Sardar Sarovar Dam was dedicated to the nation on October 31 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Apart from other attractions a viewing gallery has been created at a height of 135 metres inside the statue to enable tourists to have a view of the dam and nearby mountain rangesCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever