"Dare you to touch me..." Annamalai challenges DMK govt to arrest him

CHENNAI: After being booked by police in connection with alleged attacks on migrant labourers in Tamil Nadu, state BJP chief K Annamalai on Sunday dared the MK Stalin-led DMK government to "arrest him within 24 hours", while also alleging that false cases are registered against him. "You [DMK government] think that you can suppress the voice of democracy by filing false cases. As a common man, I give you 24 hours, to touch me if possible," the BJP state unit president said in a tweet.

The fresh remarks by the BJP leader came after the state's Cyber Crime Division booked him under sections of inciting violence and promoting enmity between groups among others. The police's action came just a day after he held the state government responsible for the ongoing stir regarding migrant labourers in the southern state.

Taking to Twitter, Annamalai also said that the police's response [of filing cases against him] came after he exposed "DMK's seven-decade propaganda against the north Indian people". "I understand DMK has filed cases against me for exposing their 7-decade propaganda against North Indian brothers. So, here is the video of what they spoke, which was mentioned in my press release yesterday. I challenge Fascist DMK to arrest me!," Annamalai said.

The BJP leader yesterday released a statement on the migrant labourers' issue saying they are safe in Tamil Nadu but the Chief Minister Stalin led-Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and its alliance party leaders are the reason for the hate against them. He also opposed the spread of false news on the attack on the people from Bihar in the state, saying that Tamils don't support "separatism" and "vile hatred" against north Indians.

"It is disheartening to see fake news spread in social media about attacks on Migrant workers in Tamil Nadu. We, the Tamil people, believe in the concept of "The World is One" and do not endorse the separatism and vile hatred against our North Indian friends," Annamalai said in a series of tweets. Hitting out at the state government, he said, "DMK's MPs' vile comments on North Indians, DMK minister calling them Panipuri Wala, and their alliance partners demanding their exodus has triggered what we see today."

He further said that the people, the Government and the police, do not endorse the views of DMK and their alliance partners. Besides, Annamalai, the Tamil Nadu police have also registered against the holder of 'BJP Bihar' Twitter account holder under sections 153, 153A(1)(a), 505(1)(b) IPC 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)

As reported earlier, four persons including a BJP spokesperson Prashant Umrao and two journalists have also been booked on the charges of spreading false news over alleged attack on migrant workers in the state. Prashant Umrao, an Editor with Dainik Bhaskar, a Patna-based journalist, owner of 'Tanvir Post' Twitter handle Mohammad Tanvir, and Shubam Shukla were booked at different police stations on the charges of spreading "false" news regarding attacks on migrant labourers in Tamil Nadu.

A statewide panic was created among migrant workers, working in Tamil Nadu, after several purported videos, showing attacks on migrant workers, circulated on social media. The panic was triggered after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday, raised concerns and took note of the purported videos of "attacks".

The panic affected the industries in Tamil Nadu, which rely on migrant workers, badly as many workers stayed off work. Taking cognizance of the panic, Tamil Nadu's Director General of Police Sylendra Babu released a statement, saying that the video doing rounds of social media was "false" and "mischievous".

"Somebody in Bihar posted false and mischievous videos saying that migrant workers were attacked in Tamil Nadu. Two videos were posted. Both are false as these incidents happened at an earlier date in Tiruppur and Coimbatore. One was a clash between two groups of migrant workers from Bihar while another was from a clash between two local residents in Coimbatore," the top cop said. The DGP also said that the persons behind this rumour-driven panic will not be spared.