Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempted to sway voters by exerting “undue influence” by promising monetary benefits to the electorate, the Trinamool Congress said in a complaint filed with the Election Commission of India on Thursday.
It was referring to the Prime Minister’s telephone conversation with Amrita Roy, the BJP’s candidate from Krishnanagar on Wednesday, when he said that he was exploring legal measures to ensure that nearly ₹3,000 crore “looted” from West Bengal’s poor and attached by the Enforcement Directorate is returned to the people. The TMC filed a complaint against both Mr. Modi and Ms. Roy.
‘Corrupt practice’
“The act conducted by Shri Narendra Modi is an attempt to sway the voters with monetary benifits, which is also a corrupt practice and is a form of bribery to achieve undue influence within the meaning of the provisions of The Representation of the People Act, 1951. It is evident that such promises are being made by him to disrupt the very ideology of ensuring a ‘level playing field’ by illegally garnering votes by the BJP,‘‘ the TMC said, in a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner.
The letter also objected to Ms. Roy’s remarks on her own family’s past and her statement that the people would not have remained Hindus without the contribution of 18th century king Krishnachandra Roy. The TMC claimed that her remarks were aimed at acquiring votes on religious lines.
The Prime Minister has been reaching out to his party’s candidates over telephone; the audio conversation was shared by the BJP leadership.
‘Death knell of Mamata’
In another development, former judge and BJP candidate from Tamluk Abhijit Gangopadhyay courted controversy after he was purportedly heard saying, in a video clip, that the “death knell of Mamata Banerjee” has started ringing.
While Trinamool leadership claimed that Mr. Gangopadhyay wished for the death of the West Bengal Chief Minister, the BJP said that what he had meant was the “political death of the TMC”.
On Wednesday, the ECI had issued a show cause notice to the BJP’s Dilip Ghosh for objectionable remarks directed at the Trinamool Congress chairperson. State Minister Sashi Panja said that it appeared that a competition was going on among BJP candidates to show “how bad their utterances can get.”
“Abhijit Gangopadhyay now wishes for the death of Mamata Banerjee. Do we ever wish death even for our foes? The fear of losing has crept into the BJP... You should be apologetic about such distasteful remarks. And this person was a high court judge till the other day,” Ms. Panja said.
