Accusing the Trinamool Congress of abducting and forcing party membership on a Dalit couple which had recently welcomed BJP president Amit Shah and dined with him at Naxalbari, the BJP on Wednesday condemned the alleged incident saying “this is a textbook case of revenge politics.”
The party said the politics of pressure and violence would be counter-productive for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Addressing a Press conference here, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Ravishankar Prasad alleged that Raju and Gita Mahalis were “abducted” and “forced to join the TMC”. Stating that Gita had last week welcomed the party president and expressed happiness that a man of “such stature” visited them. “There was pressure on the couple to join the TMC”, he alleged.
Prasad said it is worrisome that Bengal had earlier faced the left front violence and now it is the violence unleashed in the state by the TMC and wondered whether Benerjee could stop the march of “democratic process”. The BJP leader said such tactics would be “counter-productive” for the TMC. In a dig he said acts of “violence and pressure are obviously result of frustration” by the TMC on account of investigations into Sharda and Narada scams. “Investigations will not stop”, Prasad said.
He said “abduction of tribal members” will not stop BJP’s expansion in Bengal. He accused Benerjee of “politics of appeasement” favouring a particular segment of the society. Also accusing “misuse of police” by the TMC Government, Prasad said “this politics is not going to last”.
The BJP leader said “abduction and forcible induction” of tribal members into the TMC “is a text book case of revenge politics”.
Asked about Pakistan’s forces killing Indian soldiers and the Indian response, Prasad said army has already said that suitable response will be given at the time of “our choice” and “ we need to trust army’s courage and valour”.