Mamata warns BJP about clashing with her in West Bengal

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in what is seen as a thinly veiled warning to BJP, said that those who get into a confrontation with her will be smashed to pieces.

Addressing the gathering at an Eid-ul-Fitr celebration in central Kolkata, Banerjee urged the minority community not to be afraid than thanked them for their support.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo, who attends the celebration at Red Road in central Kolkata every year and usually refrains from making political comments during cultural and religious programs, delivered a brief speech laced with political overtones.

“They will leave as fast as they have captured the EVMs. There is no need for you to be afraid. You should keep working for humanity,” said Banerjee.

However, she did not elaborate who the audience should not be afraid of. Her comments come at a time when the BJP has achieved stunning success in the state, winning 18 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.

Thanking the minority community for their support for Bengal, the Chief Minister said "I am grateful to you for your support for Bengal, for being united and working for secularism. If you are with then we will continue to fight.”

The Chief Minister’s comments drew a sharp retort from the state BJP leadership. Addressing the media later in the day, state BJP leadership Dilip Ghosh said that she has lost her sense of where to make political comments and where not to.

“First let her save her own party from crumbling to pieces then she should think about others,” said Ghosh.

Referring to the recent trend of defections from TMC to BJP, Ghosh said that it is Mamata's party which is gradually crumbling to pieces every day.