Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asserted he will ensure that money looted from the poor is returned to them in the form of assets and money the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized from “the corrupt”.
He said this in a phone conversation with the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Krishnanagar, ‘Rajmata’ Amrita Roy Wednesday. He also telephoned Basirhat candidate Rekha Patra, who he referred to as ‘Shakti Swaroopa’. Patra was a key figure in the Sandeshkhali protests, on whose complaint the Bengal police had arrested Shibaprasad Hazra, an aide of arrested strongman and suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shahjahan Sheikh.
Back in 2014, while campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections, the PM had promised to bring back “black money” from abroad and deposit Rs 15 lakh each in every citizen’s bank account. However, Home Minister Amit Shah had later said his statements were a “jumla” or election gimmick.
During his conversation with Roy, the PM, according to a BJP media release, said “…he is exploring legal options to ensure that the money looted from the poor goes back to them through whatever assets and money the Enforcement Directorate has attached from the corrupt”.
“The ED (Enforcement Directorate) has attached 3,000 crore in West Bengal that belongs to the poor. I am taking legal advice and if it allows me, the moment we form a government, I will return the money to those who had to pay a bribe for a job. Take my message across to the people that I have sent this message for Bengal,” Modi said in an audio clip shared by the BJP of the conversation, when Roy told him “how the poor had been robbed of their earnings to get a job or admission in a school”.
The ED is probing a number of scam cases in Bengal — ranging from school recruitment, ration, to coal and cattle — lodged against several leaders of the ruling TMC. The central agency had back in 2022 seized trucks of cash from a close associate of now expelled TMC minister Partha Ghosh.
Modi also said the BJP is “committed to uproot corruption in the country while on the other hand all the corrupt have come together to save each other”, an apparent dig at the opposition INDIA bloc.
Political analyst and author of ‘Mission Bengal: A Saffron Experiment’ Snigdhendu Bhattacharya called the move an “innovative campaign”, but questioned whether the PM’s assurance would have impact.
“Very innovative, a marketing campaign worth teaching at institutes. Whether or how it would impact Bengal’s majority of women remains to be seen. The main issue for BJP is TMC’s corruption and misgovernance. They will also play ‘Hindutva card’ to consolidate votes so that the Left Congress alliance doesn’t dent anti-TMC votes. But their central point of benefit is grassroots level grievances against TMC,” Bhattacharya told ThePrint.
Meanwhile, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said, “The one whose family tradition is betrayal, that queen mother Amrita Roy has been made Krishnanagar candidate by BJP! Is this nomination so that the oppressive monarchy can be established again in Krishnanagar? Or BJP is plotting to sell Bengal’s soil to foreign power again?”
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Battleground Krishnanagar
The BJP has pitched Roy against TMC heavyweight Mahua Moitra — who became an MP in 2019 — in Krishnanagar, a TMC bastion since 2009. Moitra had to forfeit her Parliament membership over “unethical conduct” last year and now faces CBI and Enforcement Directorate probes in connection with a ‘cash-for-query’ case and foreign exchange violations, respectively.
BJP debutante Amrita Roy belongs to the royal family of Krishnanagar, and is a descendent of Maharaja Krishna Chandra, who shaped Bengal’s socio-cultural landscape
Political analyst Bhattacharya believes Roy’s candidature is likely to influence the voters of Krishnanagar.
After her name was announced, the TMC targeted Roy saying Maharaja Krishna Chandra had supported the British to defeat Nawab Siraj-Ud-Daulah.
Roy completed her schooling from La Martiniere, Kolkata, and her higher education from Loreto College. Professionally, she is a fashion consultant.
The royal scion, who stays in Kolkata and visits Krishnanagar during festivals, is now busy reaching out to the people. Speaking to the media, Roy said, “The PM has motivated me to campaign extensively. I was taken by surprise when he called. I am confident that I will win the people’s support.”
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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