Kolkata : The All India Trinamool Congress has filed a complaint to the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP's Krishnanagar candidate Amrita Roy over their telephonic conversation on March 27.
In its complaint, TMC has alleged that the statements made by both the leaders are violations of the Model Code of Conduct.
"It has come to our attention that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been a part of a telephonic conversation with Amrita Roy. Their telephonic conversation is a campaign stunt that has been circulated with the media and has been uploaded on the official Instagram handle of BJP named and styled as "bjp4bengal"," the complaint said.
The TMC quoted PM Narendra Modi's conversation with Amrita Roy that stated, 'Nayi sarkaar bante hi, jo bhi kanooni pravdhan karna padega, ya koi niyam banana padega' and 'Ye jo Rs. 3000 cr. rupaya gareeb logo ka paisa hai, aur jisne bhi iss prakar ka paisa rishwat me diya hai unsabko main wapis paisa karna chahta hu'.
"At the very outset it is stated that an attempt has been made to pan out incorrect information and procedure established by law. The amount at all purportedly seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) cannot be distributed by the government as promised by Narendra Modi. The process of law allows the restoration of alleged recovered money/property only in terms of set procedures. In any case, the supposed 3,000 crores recovered/attached/seized by the ED is an unverified and unconfirmed number," the TMC alleged.
Further, the West Bengal ruling party pointed out that from these statements, it is clear that he (PM Modi) is portraying his interest in introducing a new scheme or a provision of law, whereby he is aiming to distribute an amount of Rs. 3000 crore to the people of Bengal which was purportedly recovered/attached/seized by the ED.
"The above statements are a clear violation of the MCC, which states that, "from the time elections are announced by Commission, Ministers and other authorities shall not --announce any financial grants in any form or promises thereof'. Hence, there's a clear bar on political parties and their leaders/candidates from making any promise which are likely to vitiate the purity of the election process or exert undue influence on the voters," the complaint said.
"The act conducted by Narendra Modi is an attempt to sway the voters with monetary benefits, which is also a "corrupt practice" and is a form of "bribery" to achieve "undue influence" within the meaning of 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 for the BJP," it added.
The TMC also alleged that Amrita Roy can also be heard referring to her ancestor (Raja Krishnachandra Roy) who was a king/zamindar. Referencing to her ancestor, she has said that "If not for him, people/she would not be Hindu".
This is a clear portrayal and an attempt to acquire votes in the name of religion, which is in complete violation of the MCC, which states that no party or candidate shall make promises/statements on religious or communal grounds.
The TMC demanded the CEO to issue directions in order to refrain PM Modi and other BJP members from making monetary promises, making communal and religious comments.