BJP, Cong allies slam Nath’s migrant remark

Bhopal/Patna: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath’s recent comment, that migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were grabbing jobs and depriving the youth of the state of employment, has stirred a political row reminiscent of aggressive regional chauvenism in BJP-ruled Maharashtra and Gujarat.

While the Opposition BJP in MP has accused Mr Nath of promoting regionalism for electoral gains, allies in the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar have demanded a clarification from the Congress on the issue.

Soon after assuming office on Monday, Mr Nath had said, “Many industries have come up in MP, in which people from other states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have been given employment, depriving youth of MP from getting jobs. Only industries which absorb 70 per cent of their manpower from MP will be eligible for the incentives proposed for them by the state government”.

He, however, clarified that he was not against migrants getting jobs in the state.

The Congress had, in its election manifesto, promised to provide incentive of salary grants for five years to industries which generate employment in the state.

A day after RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav attended Mr Nath’s oath ceremony in Bhopal, the party’s spokesman criticised the chief minister’s statement. RJD spokesperson in Patna, Bhai Virendra, said, “People are free to live and work anywhere in the country. Political leaders should avoid such kind of statements”.

Mr Yadav and former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi had previously criticised the BJP for targeting migrants from North India in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijavargiya accused Mr Nath of promoting regionalism for electoral gains by speaking against migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

“Mr Nath was born in Uttar Pradesh, had education in West Bengal and became chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. Should we call him a migrant?” he wondered aloud and advised the chief minister not to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere of the state.

Congress spokesman in Bhopal, however, defended Mr Nath saying that as chief minister he was justified in working for the interest of unemployed youth of the state.

The Patna unit of the Congress also defended Mr Nath, saying that the statement was given in a different context.

“The Madhya Pradesh chief minister never said anything against migrants from Bihar and UP. He was talking about providing employment to youth of his own state. The situation which has been created in states like Gujarat and Maharashtra is not going to happen in any of the states where Congress Party is in power,” senior Congress leader Prem Chand Mishra told this newspaper.