Kolkata: West Bengal BJP needs to “purge” itself of the “moles and informers”, who are joining from other parties, as they can “betray” the BJP, senior party leader Tathagata Roy said.
In an exclusive interview with ThePrint, Roy said “some of the turncoats” who have joined the BJP “do not have honest intentions”.
The former governor of Meghalaya and Tripura Monday tweeted that one of the nine suspected al Qaeda terrorists, arrested by the NIA last week was making attempts to get “enlisted” in the police or paramilitary forces. He wondered if similar attempts are being made to “infiltrate” other outfits like the BJP.
When asked about this tweet, Roy clarified that he did not mean “Muslim leaders joining the BJP”, but “the moles and informers of other political parties” who have joined the party after 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP leader further said that the party should “put an examination process in place for the new inductees”, and also scrutinise the background of those joining it.
Also read: Cow dung is no Covid cure, says Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy, eyes return to politics
On NIA arrests
Roy, whose term as a governor of Meghalaya ended in May, returned to Kolkata in August and joined the BJP as a primary member soon after. He is, however, yet to get a position in the party’s organisational structure. His role in Bengal politics or in the upcoming campaign for the 2021 state elections has not been defined yet.
Roy has always been active on social media, especially on Twitter.
After the arrests of the suspected al Qaeda terrorists by the NIA from Bengal’s Murshidabad district, BJP leaders accused Mamata Banerjee’s government for providing “shelter to infiltrators in West Bengal”.
Roy too did not mince his words. He tweeted about the “repulsive” look of the suspected terrorists and advised the NIA to give them what they “deserve”.
My congratulations to NIA for nabbing the low lives from Kerala and Murshidabad district of West Bengal!
Badhai ho,badhai ho!
Now give them what they deserve. ???Just take care to stay within the law!
— Tathagata Roy (@tathagata2) September 20, 2020
The very look is repulsive! pic.twitter.com/7DXUtgF9Vr
— Tathagata Roy (@tathagata2) September 20, 2020
On Monday, in a tweet, Roy even claimed that Abu Sufiyan, one of the arrested terrorists, was trying to “enlist himself in police and paramilitary forces”, but he failed.
“Point for consideration: Are similar attempts being made to infiltrate other forces and outfits? Like BJP, for instance? One cannot be too careful!” he wrote.
Abu Sufiyan,gang leader of jihadis nabbed by NIA,tried to enlist himself in police and para-military forces. Mercifully,he failed.
Point for consideration: Are similar attempts being made to infiltrate other forces and outfits? Like BJP,for instance?
One cannot be too careful!
— Tathagata Roy (@tathagata2) September 21, 2020
‘Floodwater gushes in BJP’
Talking to ThePrint, Roy said: “Floodwater gushes in BJP since the results of the 2019 general elections.
“Some of the turncoats do not have honest intentions. They know that BJP stands a good chance to come to power with things remaining constant.”
“Our party now needs to purge. It also needs to put an examination process in place for the new inductees. Due to shortsightedness of some leaders in BJP, some anti-BJP elements are trying to thrive in the party. They can betray the party. Party should weed out such elements,” added Roy.
Also read: Governor Tathagata Roy targets Gandhi, blames Nehru for Bengal’s high Muslim population