BJP leader dismisses tribal couple joining TMC

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday refused to give any weightage to a tribal couple joining West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress days after hosting BJP chief Amit Shah.

"In a country of 125 crore people, how does it matter who joins what," Vardhan told the media here on the sidelines of a programme at National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation when asked about the tribal couple's move.

Days after hosting BJP President Amit Shah for lunch at their village home, the couple - Raju and Geeta Mahali - joined the Trinamool on Wednesday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had earlier reacted strongly, claiming that the couple was abducted and forcibly made to join the Trinamool.

"The tragedy is that for many years West Bengal is a victim of fear and violence under the Left parties. Now, it is a victim of fear and reckless violence of the TMC," Union Law Minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said in New Delhi.