This Article is From Oct 21, 2018

Bihar Congress Leader Sends Defamation Notice To Gujarat Chief Minister

On October 16, Vijay Rupani had said while speaking to the media in Lucknow that "the Congress in-charge of Bihar" was responsible for the attacks on migrants in Gujarat.

Bihar Congress Leader Sends Defamation Notice To Gujarat Chief Minister

Vijay Rupani had said that "the Congress in-charge of Bihar" was responsible for the attacks on migrants.

Ahmedabad:

Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil sent a legal notice to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Saturday, seeking apology, after Mr Rupani allegedly blamed him for the recent violence against migrant workers.

In the notice, posted on Mr Gohil's Twitter handle, the Congress leader said he will take "criminal and civil action" against Mr Rupani if, within two weeks, he did not "make a statement expressing regret and denial".

On October 16, Mr Rupani had said while speaking to the media in Lucknow that "the Congress in-charge of Bihar" was responsible for the attacks on migrants in Gujarat.

"I alone have the responsibility as in-charge of Congress for Bihar. You made a clear allegation against Congress in-charge of Bihar, which is against me," Mr Gohil said in the notice.

"Gujaratis live in many states and countries, and similarly, people of other states have the Constitutional right to settle in Gujarat. These are my clear views," the Congress leader said.

He was in Bihar and Delhi when the Hindi-speaking factory workers were attacked in Gujarat, he claimed, adding that he had appealed for peace by holding press conferences.

The ruling BJP has been accusing Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor of inciting violence against Hindi-speaking workers.

Mr Thakor is an in-charge secretary of Congress in Bihar.

When asked by reporters on October 16 if Mr Rupani could be referring to Mr Thakor and not him, Mr Gohil had said, "In Congress, the party appoints only one in-charge for a state, all others are secretaries. I hope the Gujarat chief minister has this basic knowledge.

"If he was not speaking about me, he should clarify.

In many newspapers today (October 16) it is written that the chief minister is saying that I am responsible for the violence, so I have decided to take legal action," he had said.

Gujarat witnessed several incidents of violence against Hindi-speaking migrant workers recently after a 14-month-old girl was allegedly raped in Sabarkantha district and a man hailing from Bihar was arrested in the case.

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