BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday claimed that the tribal couple with whom he had lunch in West Bengal last month was forcibly made to join the ruling Trinamool Congress.
"The tribal couple did not join the Trinamool on their own, they were forced to join the ruling party," Shah told reporters here.
Raju Mahali and his wife Geeta had hogged media limelight when Shah ate food at the tribal couple's village home at Naxalbari in West Bengal on April 25.
On May 3, the couple joined the Trinamool with the party's Darjeeling district President and Tourism Minister Gautam Deb said they joined the party of their "own will".
Shah, who is here on a two-day visit as part of his all-India tour to further expand the Bharatiya Janata Party's base, is slated to address a public meeting at Kumarghat in northern Tripura on Sunday.
--IANS
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