NEW DELHI : A day after speaking to ‘shakti swaroopa’ Rekha Patra, the Basirhat’s BJP Lok Sabha candidate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a phone conversation with Krishnanagar candidate Amrita Roy on Wednesday.
The PM told her to inform the people of West Bengal that he was exploring legal options to ensure that around Rs 3,000 crore seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was “returned to the poor people” when he comes back to power for a third term. Roy is pitted against TMC’s Mahua Moitra.
The BJP expects a catalytic impact on the voters belonging to the poor sections after Modi’s assertion about “returning the money to the poor through proper legal provisions.”
In his conversation with Roy, the PM estimated the seized money at Rs 3,000 crore, which he said was paid by the poor for getting jobs as teachers or clerks in the state. Modi said he would look at legal provisions, if it would be needed, to how the money can be recovered and distributed among the poor.
“I am exploring legal options. Please tell the people about it,” he told Roy.
When Roy informed him about the opposition charges against her candidature, Modi advised her not to mind. Modi said a divide appeared to exist in the country’s politics: on the one side are people committed to eradicating corruption and on another, there is a section that supports corruption and are involved in it, he said.
The PM’s remarks came in the backdrop of the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and the support from Congress and other parties to the CM in the liquor excise case.
“This clearly shows their (Opposition) priority is not the country but power,” said the PM, asserting that the BJP-led alliance was now fighting for a corruption-free country. “All the corrupt have come together to save each other in various cases,” said the PM.
Roy belongs to a reputed family of the 18th-century local ruler Krishnachandra Roy.
She told Modi that her family was being targeted as “traitors” by the Opposition after she was declared the party candidate. The PM asked her to overlook them as they were struggling for their political survival.
“It happens because of their (Opposition) double standards,” Modi said, and asked Roy to win the seat and plan 100-day works for her constituency after the new government is formed.
Modi had first spoken to Rekha Patra on Tuesday over the phone and asked her to fight for the rights of the people. On Tuesday, the PM also spoke to Kerala’s Alathur BJP candidate TN Sarasu over the phone. He told her that action would be taken against all those involved in irregularities in cooperative banks of the state.
The rajmata of rajbari
Amrita Roy, who traces her lineage to the 18th century local king Krishnachandra Roy, and holds the title of ‘Rajmata of Rajbari’, joined the BJP on March 20 this year. During his telephonic conversation, Modi hit back at those who targeted the erstwhile royalty for its alleged support to the British, after the BJP named her its candidate. She told Modi that her family is being called traitors and noted that Krishnachandra Roy worked for people and joined hands with other kings to save ‘Sanatan Dharma’.