Construction workers from Bihar have accused DMK men of refusing to pay salaries and physically abusing them. They were abused for their identity and threatened with murder when asked for their salaries. They have filed a complaint with the District Collector seeking action against the DMK men and to help them get their money. They have also sought protection from police as the DMK men are sending goons to attack them.
A Tamil Samayam report dated March 6, 2022, details their ordeal as follows. Vinoth Kumar and Rajesh from Bihar live in KN Pudur village in Salem district, Tamil Nadu. They have been living in TN for more than 20 years doing interior and tiles work with construction companies. More than 15 Biharis worked along with them on a house project commissioned by DMK men Raji and Arun Kumar, an engineer, in the neighborhood. They worked in many houses built in different parts of Salem for the past 6 months.
But when the projects were completed, the DMK men refused to pay the contract amount and abused them. They said, “We cannot give money to you outsiders” and abused them in obscene language. They also assaulted the workers and threatened them with murder when they demanded their salaries. Complainants said that the duo abused them, saying that “it was a mistake to allow North Indians in the city” when they went to bring their tools.
The migrant workers have alleged that the duo has to pay nearly ₹25 lakhs and demanded action against the latter. They have said that they are returning to their native place in Bihar as repeated requests to pay up their salaries fell on deaf ears. Rajesh Kumar, who spoke to ABP Tamil, said, “When we asked them to pay after we completed the projects, they said, ‘we won’t fully pay someone like you from another state. You can go and complain to anyone. We won’t pay you'”.
He further said, “Due to this, I cannot pay the laborers who worked for me. They (DMK men) send goons if I ask for money. They have moved to the houses we helped build. But they are threatening us like this now”. The complaint filed by the workers was shown in a Captain News report from which we gather that the DMK men said, “What job do you have in Tamil Nadu? Where do you come from that you dare to ask me for money? You North Indian thief. It was a mistake to allow you in our city/place”.
The DMK government has been scrambling to save its image in the national forum after Uttar Bharatiya migrant workers started leaving the state in large numbers fearing for their lives. Pliant media is helping them by reporting ‘positive’ comments from migrant workers while suppressing such threats and abuse they face in the state.
