Vidya Rani, daughter of dead sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, joined the BJP in the presence of Party general secretary Muralidhar Rao and former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan at an event in Tamil Nadu. Along with her, as many as 1000 members from other parties joined BJP.
“I want to work for the poor and underprivileged irrespective of their caste and religion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s schemes are for the people and I want to take them to the people. My father also wanted to serve the people but he chose the wrong path.,” said Vidya Rani.
This joining has got a mixed response on social media. While some became critical of BJP on admitting her into the party, a few others say that ‘Children should not be judged by the past of their parents’. Vidhya, who runs a tuition center in Krishnagiri for the past one year, said she wants to help the poor through education, irrespective of their religion and caste
Veerappan was a dreaded bandit who used to operate in the forests bordering the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala and he had evaded police of the three states creating a Robin Hood-like image for himself. He was eliminated in Operation Cocoon in 2001.
