IMPHAL: BJP threatened on Sunday to initiate legal action against rights activist
Irom Sharmila Chanu if she failed to substantiate her claim that the saffron party had offered her Rs 36 crore and a ticket to contest against Manipur chief minister
Okram Ibobi Singh from Thoubal constituency.
“We will seek legal action if she fails to issue more details on her statement and disclose the names of BJP leaders who met her,” said party general secretary (administration) Thongam Biswajit Singh.
Sharmila said on Saturday that two BJP members had approached her with the offer when she was under observation at the
Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal after having broken her fast in August. She said she had rejected the offer. She also said she knew one of the two members.
Biswajit termed the allegations baseless and an attempt to tarnish BJP’s image ahead of the election. He said the party neither had Rs 36 crore, nor did it fight polls with money. “We know her allegations are false. It is a political conspiracy against BJP and we suspect Congress’s hand in this,” he said.
Biswajit also attacked the Congress government for its failure to restore the supply of fuel and essential commodities despite getting help from the Centre. “The Centre has already provided 147 companies of central paramilitary forces to the state. Whether there will be casualties or not, the blockade should be opened.”