Kolkata/New Delhi: The tribal couple that had hosted BJP president Amit Shah for lunch at their home in Naxalbari of Darjeeling a week ago, defected to the Trinamul Congress from the BJP on Wednesday.
Raju Mahali and his wife Geeta, who were in the BJP, joined the ruling party in presence of Trinamul Congress MLA and state tourism minister Goutam Deb.
The BJP described the incident as a “textbook case of revenge politics” by the TMC and claimed that West Bengal’s ruling party was feeling threatened of its growing acceptance and popularity in the state.
While the Trinamul claimed that the couple joined the party willingly, the BJP cried foul play and accused the ruling party of kidnapping them on Tuesday and forcing them for the switch-over.
The state BJP informed the incident to their central leadership in New Delhi. Also, the switch-over coincided with chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s tour in North Bengal now.
Mr Deb, who is also the Trinamul district president, handed over the party flag to the couple at a party office in Naxalbari in the morning.
He said, “The couple belong to the tribal community. They have joined our party without any provocation. We welcome them. We will engage them to take part in social development of the minority community under the chief minister’s leadership.”
In New Delhi, Union minister and senior BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad said said his party president’s visit had unnerved the TMC and even party workers and others whom Mr Shah met during his visit in the state, were under “pressure”.
Mr Prasad said though the BJP was “deeply saddened and deeply hurt” over the incident but not the least concerned since the TMC supremo couldn’t stop the “march of democracy.”
Mr Prasad asserted that people in the state will support the BJP despite the ruling party’s “pressure and violence” and such tactics couldn’t stop the BJP’s expansion in the state.
On the BJP’s allegations, Mr Deb added, “I do not know what the BJP has claimed. Their allegation is irrelevant. The BJP is a political party but has no existence here. That is why they made some baseless allegation. We never force anyone. Everyone has the right to join any political party he or she wishes to.”
The couple said they joined the Trinamul willingly. “No one forced us to join the Trinamul. We chose the party because we have been inspired by the chief minister’s development works,” Geeta said. Mr Deb later visited the couple’s house at Dakshin Katiajote village and had tea there.
Mr Shah, accompanied by state BJP president and party MLA Dilip Ghosh, had had lunch there following his arrival on April 25 on a three-day-tour to the state. Rejecting the Trinamul’s claims, Mr Ghosh alleged that the couple was being threatened by three local Trinamul leaders since Mr Shah’s visit to their home and lunch there.
“Raju was kidnapped on Tuesday when he went out for work in the morning. Later his wife was also abducted. We lodged a missing diary with the police and also gheraoed the police station till night. It is the failure of the administration to rescue them. The couple was ultimately forced to switch to the Trinamul. Their body language spoke of the pressure they had faced to join the Trinamul. The entire nation now sees the political situation here. Our senior leader Rahul Sinha will meet Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi to apprise him of the incident,” Mr Ghosh said.
