Hours after a stunning audio clip of an alleged conversation between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and a BJP district Vice-President in Nandigram went viral, the latter has confirmed the authenticity of the call recording. The BJP leader Pralay Pal has reiterated his loyalty to the party and his leader Suvendu Adhikari, saying he will remain loyal to him.
In a video uploaded by the West Bengal unit of BJP, Pralay Pal said, “Mamata Banerjee is the candidate from the Nandigram constituency. And somehow she thought of me today and gave me a call. She wants my support. She wants me to return to her party and work for it (TMC). We work for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and are even ready to sacrifice our lives for it. Our party candidate is Suvendu Adhikari. My family is connected to his family for several years.”
He emphasised, “When the Communist party (CPIM) committed atrocities on people and TMC workers, it was the Adhikari family which stood by them. When I joined the BJP, I did not point fingers at the Adhikari family. We neither found anything against them nor showed the audacity to point fingers at them. Because they stood by helpless people from the very onset.”
“And this time Suvendu Adhikari is a candidate of the BJP. And I will have to stay loyal to him. I have told Didi (Mamata Banerjee) that her party did not give me a resident certificate, despite being a party member. We don’t betray other parties and will refrain from doing so, even in the future. Irrespective of what she says, we are fighting for Suvendu Adhikari. I have taken the responsibility of sending him to Nabanna from the Nandigram constituency. And I will ensure that it happens,” Praloy Pal concluded.
Leaked audio clip shows Mamata Banerjee pleading BJP leader for help
On Saturday, the audio clip of the conversation between West Bengal CM and Pralay Pal surfaced, wherein Mamata Banerjee could be heard pleading for Pal’s help ahead of polling in Nandigram on April 1.
“You are a young man, you do a lot of work, I know. Please help us out a bit here, you will see, you will not experience any difficulty,” Mamata Banerjee said during the conversation. Pralay Pal responded, “My family engaged in politics because of you, didi. The day when election results were announced, when we realised that you will become the Chief Minister, we invited 5 Brahmins for pujo and organised a rally.”
“But what hurts is, even after all such sacrifices, when Pralay Pal does not get receive a resident certificate, there is nothing more humiliating than that,” he added. Mamata told him that she was not allowed to visit Nandigram by the TMC leader there, taking a dig at Suvendu Adhikari, the former TMC stalwart who is now BJP’s candidate from the constituency.
Pal continued, “I shouldn’t receive a resident certificate, can it happen? I have been beaten by your Mahadev.” Mamata Banerjee defended herself saying that she did not receive information earlier but now she has come there, she is learning of it. Pralay Pal, nevertheless, despite much cajoling, refused to betray the BJP. “Whatever you think, Didi, I have quit the party now (TMC), I will not be able to betray the trust of the party I am in now,” he said.
