JD(U) Files Complaint Against Goa CM Pramod Sawant Over 'Migrant Labourers Are Criminals' Comment

Goa CM Pramod Sawant clarified that he spoke in Konkani about the necessity of labour cards to detect crimes if they are committed by labourers, but his words were twisted by some political leaders.

Goa CM Pramod Sawant allegedly blamed labourers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh for most crimes in the coastal state.

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A complaint was filed against the Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant, on Wednesday for his remarks, in which he claimed that "90% of the crimes in the coastal state were committed by migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar". The petition was filed in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate in Patna by Manish Kumar Singh, a local leader of the ruling JD(U), who objected to Sawant's comments during a speech on Labor Day in Goa. Singh demanded an apology from Sawant, who had allegedly blamed labourers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh for most crimes in the coastal state. The complaint is expected to be taken up for hearing in due course.

Sawant's in his speech said: "About 90% of the crimes in Goa are committed by migrant labourers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and adjacent states." He urged that every migrant labourer working in Goa should have a labour card issued by the state government. The Goa government issues labour cards to those working in the private, unorganized, and industrial sectors, which keeps a record of their employment and extends welfare measures to them. Sawant emphasized the need to track the details of labourers because after committing a crime in Goa, migrant labourers often return to their state, making it difficult to locate them.

Umesh Singh Kushwaha, the JD(U)'s Bihar unit president, in a statement, alleged that the BJP, to which Sawant belongs, has always disrespected Hindi-speaking people. He also claimed that the Narendra Modi government at the center will be punished in the next year's Lok Sabha polls for its "silence" over the issue. Statements lambasting the Goa CM have also been issued by the RJD, the Congress, and the CPI(M), all constituents of the ruling 'Mahagathbandhan' or Grand Alliance in Bihar.

State BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand responded to the accusations by squarely blaming Nitish Kumar and RJD president Lalu Prasad, and the Mahagathbandhan government for "Bihar's image problem".

CM SAWANT CLARIFIES COMMENT

CM Sawant later clarified: "On International Labour Day, I spoke in Konkani about the necessity of labour cards to detect crimes if they are committed by labourers. The statement was twisted by some political leaders... We honoured labourers from various states on Labour Day." He expressed regret if his comments upset any person.

(With PTI inputs.)