In a clear signal about the importance of Sandeshkhali in the electoral battle in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called up Rekha Patra, a young sexual harassment victim from Sandeshkhali who was the first to raise her voice against Trinamool Congress atrocities, and is the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate for Basirhat.
Sandeshkhali, a small island close to the international border with Bangladesh, is a part of the Basirhat constituency, and gained national prominence after Patra and other women staged huge protests and accused Trinamool leaders of land grab, extortion and sexual harassment. This has emerged as a key issue in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Rekha Patra said the Prime Minister called her up and asked about her poll preparations. She said that the Prime Minister started the conversation in Bengali. “He encouraged me by saying that you have signed up for a huge responsibility.” In reply, Patra told him that he “is like a God” for the women of Sandeshkhali. “We feel Ram ji is with us,” she said. The Prime Minister replied that he is grateful that Sandeshkhali’s women have blessed him, she said.
“He asked me about how I was going about my campaign and about the mood of the people. He encouraged me by saying ‘You are Shakti Swaroopa’ (embodiment of Shakti)” I am overwhelmed that somebody as big as the Prime Minister is encouraging me,” she said. Rekha Patra told the Prime Minister that some women on the island had held protests after she was chosen as the candidate. “They have now sent a message to us and said they did everything on the Trinamool’s instructions and promised they won’t repeat this. There is no enmity. We will work for anyone,” she told Modi. The Prime Minister praised her for wishing the best for those who protested against her. “BJP has done a great job by making you a candidate,” he said.
Patra said she is confident of public support. “I am from a poor family. My husband works in Chennai. We struggle to make ends meet. I want to do something to ensure that people get work here and they don’t have to leave the State,” she said.
The Prime Minister said he is confident of her win. “You are Shakti Swaroopa, you sent such powerful people to jail. We will together fight for the honour of women, not just in Basirhat, but across Bengal. You have my full support,” he said.
“Bengal is the land of Durga Puja and you are an embodiment of that Shakti. It is not easy to raise the voice of Sandeshkhali women. We feel the nari shakti of Bengal will bless us this time. People are disturbed due to the Trinamool Congress Government,” Patra quoted the Prime Minister as saying.
The Prime Minister then asked her how the people of Sandeshkhali were responding to her choice as the BJP’s candidate. “I told him that due to the activities of Trinamool Congress’ Sheikh Shahjahan and his bahini (army), we the people of Sandeshkhali have not been able to cast our votes freely since 2011. We want proper security so that we can cast our votes. We are thankful for your support.”
“The Prime Minister promised to support us. There is immense joy in Sandeshkhali after I was chosen as a candidate,” Patra said after her conversation with the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister said every woman of the country is an embodiment of ‘Shakti’ and that his Government always gives preference to ‘Nari Shakti’ or ‘women power’.
The Prime Minister’s Nari Shakti plank also aims to hit Mamata Banerjee’s key support base of women voters, which she has cultivated over the years through her women-centric welfare schemes like Lakshmi Bhandar.