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The home ministry on Monday ordered a probe into allegation that employees of northeast origin at an Ahmedabad hotel were asked to stay away during Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent visit to the city.
Sources said the ministry asked the Intelligence Bureau to find out the veracity of the order and, if so, who issued it and why. There were also reports that northeast origin employees at a mall in Ahmedabad were asked not to come for duty on the day Xi visited the Gujarat capital last week.
The IB has been asked to send its findings by Tuesday after probing the allegations of both the incidents. The sources said that the home ministry ordered the probe taking serious objection to the allegations.
"I am not aware of any such diktat given by the police to the hotel authorities about their staff. We were just concerned about the Tibetans," said Joint Commissioner of Police-Crime A K Sharma.
JCP of Special Branch Vikas Sahay too said he was not aware of any such order having been issued.
“There was no such order given to the hotel staff on that day. All staff, including those from the northeast, was present in the hotel and doing duty when Chinese president arrived. I am surprised as to how such baseless reports are doing the rounds," said Marketing Manager of Hyatt Ahmedabad Ayesha Mishra.
The management of hotel Hyatt Ahmedabad expressed surprise over the reports and claimed all staffers, including those from the northeast, did duty on September 17 when Xi had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi there.
"There was no such order given to the hotel staff on that day. All staff, including those from the northeast, was present in the hotel and doing duty when Chinese President
arrived. I am surprised as to how such baseless reports are doing the rounds," said Marketing Manager of Hyatt Ahmedabad Ayesha Mishra.
Last week, taking umbrage at the reports, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had said, "It is an insult to the northeast. They doubted us as if we are not patriots. Are we not citizens of India? This is not good for the region."
Meanwhile, the Arunachal Students' Union Delhi has also condemned the alleged "racial segregation" meted out to people from North-East during the Chinese President's visit.
Keeping away employees from North East from hotels in Ahmedabad, where the Chinese Premier stayed, to "prevent any anti-China protest in respect to Tibet" is a great humiliation to the people of the region, the outfit said in a statement.
"Are Northeasterners not Indian? Why do we have to prove our identity as Indian again and again?... it is very disheartening when such discrimination and segregation comes from the top level," it said.
The outfit lamented that government has "neither settled the issue of stapled visa nor has taken firm stand on Chinese showing Arunachal Pradesh in its political map".