BJP biggest virus in Bengal, says TMC leader Anubrata Mondal

In a fresh war of words, TMC strongman Anubrata Mondal described BJP as the "biggest virus in Bengal", and the saffron partys state chief Dilip Ghosh retorted, saying that the ruling party's days are numbered.

At a programme on Saturday, the Birbhum chief of the TMC invited Ghosh to "meet my booth-level workers" and subsequently join the ruling party, to which the BJP leader said that he would ensure Mondal's "fury" remains under check.

"I am urging their (BJPs) state president Dilip Ghosh to visit our district and meet my booth level workers. I am inviting him to come join the TMC," Mondal had said.

Ghosh, when asked about his reaction to Mondals invitation, told reporters here that the TMC leader had made more "noise" in the past, and this remark was no match to all that he had said before.

"Anubrata Mondal had been making such statements for a long time. But the fury... the decibel limit seems to have gone feeble. I think the connection to the audio speaker (Anubrata's rhetoric) will gradually stop when the assembly poll nears. We will ensure that."

The BJP seeks to free the people of Birbhum from the terror unleashed by Mondal's men in the district, "which is now a hub of bomb-making", Ghosh said.

"In the past, too, Mondal had made similar statements but it was all fluff and no substance. He had said he will drown my voice with drum beats if I step into Birbhum.

"I was ready to counter him with 'dhamsa madol' (musical instrument of tribals). But that was not needed as he didn't muster the courage to challenge me. I have visited Birbhum many times. I will be visiting Birbhum in three to four days again."

BJP state general secretary Sayantan Basu, who was in Durgapur, said "central agencies are preparing vaccines for TMC leaders like Anubrata Mondal (to cure them of the virus). Wait for six months..."

Earlier, too, Mondal and Ghosh had engaged in similar tiffs, which have, on occasions, triggered controversies.