Need to resist campaign against migrants: Minister, farm unions

Industry and Power Minister Sanjeev Arora on Thursday extended support to the migrant workforce in the wake of the rising sentiment against them in some parts of the state.

“There must be no discrimination against migrant labourers anywhere in India. We are a democratic and secular nation where everyone enjoys equal rights. Punjabis, too, work and run businesses in other states. While all violent incidents are deplorable and will be dealt with firmly under the law, one isolated incident cannot be allowed to create fear or disrupt harmony. Law and order will take its course against the alleged culprit,” he said. He was responding to The Tribune query regarding the passing of resolutions by some panchayats in Hoshiarpur, Ropar, Nawanshahr, Mohali, Bathinda and Malerklotla against undocumented migrants, asking them to leave villages.

Arora assured the industrialists that there would be no shortage of labourers in the state.

Meanwhile, several farm unions, worker organisations, intellectuals and writers have also come out in support of the migrant labourers. The Kirti Kisan Union has called for resistance to the campaign targeting migrant workers, calling upon Punjabis to remain alert and resist it. “Migrant labourers play a vital role in Punjab’s economy,” said Nirbhay Singh Dhudike, president of the union. The Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union and Joint Front of Rural and Agricultural Workers Organisations, Punjab, condemned the heinous crime committed by a labourer against a five-year-old child in Hoshiarpur, but urged the people to reject and resist the hate campaign against all migrants. More than 500 intellectuals, writers and artists have also come together to appeal to the people of Punjab to unite against the incidents of violence and hatred against migrants.