Attack on migrants in Gujarat: BJP demands expulsion of Alpesh Thakor from Congress

New Delhi, Oct 9: Amid exodus of migrants from UP and Bihar from Gujarat, the BJP has stepped up the attack on the Congress and demanded that Alpesh Thakor, who had allegedly made inflammatory speech against the outsiders, be expelled from the grand old party.

The BJP has been blaming Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor and his outfit Gujarat Kshatriya-Thakor Sena for the outbreak of violence against Hindi-speaking people in the state.
Hundreds of migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have left north Gujarat after protests broke out over the rape of a 14-month-old girl allegedly by a man from Bihar.

"If Rahul Gandhi is actually worried for Gujarat, Bihar and India then he must immediately expel Alpesh Thakor from the party. This is what BJP demands from Rahul Gandhi and Congress Party," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said on Tuesday (October 9).

Earlier, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani asked whether Congress president Rahul Gandhi would take action against his party's "own members who incited violence against the migrants in Gujarat". Rupani was referring to Alpesh Thakor.

On Monday, a video of Thakor talking to people had surfaced in which can he heard as saying that if police don't act swiftly then they will avenge the rape of the infant. The video had gone viral and is being considered to be responsible for the violence against Hindi-speaking population.

Since the rape of a 14-month-old girl in Sabarkantha district on September 28 and the arrest of a labourer hailing from Bihar for the crime, six districts, most of them in north Gujarat, have seen sporadic incidents of violence against Hindi-speaking people.

Also, some members of Thakor Sena, an OBC outfit in Gujarat led by Alpesh, were arrested by the police in connection with the violence. The victim belongs to the Thakor community.

Thakor today said that targeting of migrants is wrong and he is "totally against it", while trying to refute the BJP's allegations against his outfit.