The Gujarat High Court onThursday directed the state government to file an affidavit on the measures it has taken to ensure safety of the migrant workers who were targeted in attacks over the last two weeks.The direction was issued by a division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi while hearing a public interest litigation.The petition, filed by senior advocate K R Koshti, will be heard again next week after the government files its reply.During a brief hearing on Thursday, Additional Advocate General Prakash Jani said the government did take several steps to ensure safety of the migrant workers.The PIL claimed that the state government failed to protect the fundamental rights of the migrant population in Gujarat and police did not act to curb the violence.The attacks started after some "political leaders" made "inflammatory speeches" to provoke local people against the migrants, the PIL alleged.Over two lakh migrant workers have left Gujarat due to the attacks, Koshti claimed in the petition.The spate of attacks began after the alleged rape of a 14-month-old girl in Sabarkantha district on September 28 and the arrest of a worker from Bihar in the case.The state government should be directed to provide adequate security to the migrants and to pay compensation to those who were injured or whose properties were destroyed during the violence, the petition demanded.
