PM Modi speaks to BJP's Basirhat candidate Rekha Patra, lauds her as 'Shakti Swaroopa'
New Delhi / Kolkata, Mar 26 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called up the BJP's Lok Sabha poll candidate from Basirhat, Rekha Patra, who had highlighted the plight of women in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali, and lauded her as "Shakti Swaroopa," party leaders said.
Patra, who had raised her voice against the alleged atrocities by local Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his cronies, was picked by the BJP as its candidate from the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat, under which the village falls.
Basirhat, one of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, is currently represented by the TMC.
Modi spoke to Patra about her campaign preparations, the support for the BJP among voters, and other issues, while she narrated the ordeal of Sandeshkhali women.
He hailed her as "Shakti Swaroopa," party leaders said. Shakti is a Hinduism term associated with goddesses like Durga and Kali.
Patra told Modi she feels good that he is standing by them and said, "It is like Ram ji is with us".
She said she has not voted since 2011 due to the situation in the area, to which Modi assured that the Election Commission will hold free and fair elections and ensure everyone can vote.
Later, while talking to reporters in Kolkata, Patra thanked the Prime Minister for his “encouragement.” “I want to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modiji for his inspiring and encouraging words. I also want to thank the BJP for nominating me from the seat. All the women in the area are aware of the horrific experiences that we had to go through in Sandeshkhali. The women and the locals of Sandeshkhali are with me,” she said.
Sheikh, who has been suspended by the TMC, and some of his associates have been arrested in connection with the attack on ED officials and are in CBI custody.
Meanwhile, speaking about handwritten posters appearing in a few places in the Sandeshkhali area denouncing her candidature for the Lok Sabha poll, Patra dubbed it as the handiwork of the TMC and goons associated with Sheikh.
“Those associated with Shajahan Sheikh and his cohorts are trying to malign me. The people of Sandeshkhali are with me,” she said.
Posters bearing slogans such as “We don't want Rekha as a candidate” and “We don't want Rekha Patra as a BJP candidate” were found on Monday, a day after the BJP announced her nomination from the seat.
Patra was among the most vocal protestors of Sandeshkhali. The police arrested Shibu Hazra, a local muscleman, and Shajahan Sheikh's associate, based on her complaint.
Patra is also believed to have been part of the group that met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of his public meeting in Barasat on March 6 and narrated the plight of Sandeshkhali women to the PM.
Reacting to the Prime Minister speaking to Patra, senior TMC leader Shashi Panja said Modi should have reprimanded BJP MP Dilip Ghosh for insulting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who is "another Shakti Swaroopa from Bengal." “The Prime Minister called up Rekha Patra, but he should have also condemned the remarks by Dilip Ghosh against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also a woman. He should have also spoken to the victims of Manipur,” she said.
A controversy erupted on Tuesday after Ghosh, a former West Bengal BJP president, was heard mocking the family background of Mamata Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress supremo, in a purported video clip. PTI KR PNT NN
