Challenging the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) to arrest him, Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief K Annamalai today released a short compilation of speeches delivered by Dravidian party functionaries targeting migrant workers during the past few months.

Earlier today, Chennai police under the CCB Cyber Crime Division registered a case against BJP Tamil Nadu President Annamalai on charges of indulging in “false propaganda” against the State government with regard to the issue of migrant labourers from north India.

Responding to the case, the BJP leader tweeted, “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 about, which was mentioned in my press release yesterday. I challenge Fascist DMK to arrest me!”.

Many influential ideologues and political leaders, who declare themselves as 'Dravidianist stock', frequently call north Indians 'pani puri' sellers, 'pan parag vaaiyans' and worse. A significant section of Tamil media, often indistinguishable from the DMK propaganda wing, publishes and amplifies stories on what they claim as the 'uncouth behaviour' of 'North Indian migrants'.

A Rajya Sabha MP and organising secretary of the DMK RS Bharati launched a disgusting diatribe against Governor RN Ravi. Bharati said that the north Indian gang of 'pani puri' sellers is trying to change the name of Tamil Nadu.

A senior DMK leader and state higher education minister K Ponmudy equated Hindi speakers with Pani Poori sellers.

The incendiary speeches delivered by activists of Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), founded by actor-turned-politician Seeman and several other fringe outfits, have contributed to escalation in hate rhetoric.

With sharp rise in hate speeches directed against migrant workers, a sense of fear and panic has gripped a section among them.

Rattled over reports of migrant workers leaving the state, heads of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), hotels and restaurants association and construction firms attempted to assuage their fear and told them that they would be taken care of.

While no official statistics are available on the number of so-called 'North Indians' in the state, Tamil Nadu attracts a considerable number of workers from the rest of India engaged in infrastructure projects, the hotel industry, real estate projects, small industrial units, private security guards and a plethora of skilled jobs including plumbing, carpentry, electricians etc.

Many entrepreneurs prefer migrant workers due to a combination of factors, including lower wages and the non-availability of locals for such jobs. Some even cite 'reliable work ethics' for preferring migrants.