Assam will starve if Biharis are killed: Laloo

Ending his goodwill visit to Assam on Tuesday, RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav warned the Assamese would starve if more Biharis were killed.

"Bihari aur maare gaye to Assam bhukha mar jaayega," was his parting shot, referring to the wave of violence in Assam which left 56 Biharis dead since November 17.

Laloo, however, advised restraint to the Assamese and the Biharis in the two states.

"Hum bhi lathi uthaye hue hain. Par yeh nihatte logon ki suraksha ke liye hai (The lathi is in our hands too. But it is to defend the unarmed and innocent)," he told a gathering of over 4,000 Bihari labourers at Fancy Bazar, the commercial hub of the North-east. "Hum maar khaayenge par haath nahin uthaayenge (We will not react to assault)," he declared.

It was a backhanded reference to Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi who "took his time to quell violence" while the Rabri Devi government in Bihar "ensured that no violence took place after the night hoodlums attacked trains in the Katihar area".

The public meeting was organised by the Kamrup Chamber of Commerce primarily to highlight the economic impact the anti-Bihari pogrom has had on Assam.

Transporting essentials to retail outlets is a domain of Biharis in Assam. But with most labourers too scared to come out of hiding, goods have hardly moved from the godowns.