Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday, 1 June alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is deploying state police to pressure party legislators and orchestrate a split in the Trinamool Congress from within. The allegations came hours after the party expelled two sitting MLAs on charges of anti-party activities.

The Allegations Against BJP

Banerjee claimed that Trinamool Congress MLAs were first being called by police and warned to stay away from party work or face cases under the Arms Act and the Narcotics Act. She alleged that the same legislators were subsequently contacted by BJP offices and asked to work against the party from inside.

'After that, the same MLAs are receiving calls from different BJP offices and are asked to break Trinamool Congress from inside,' Banerjee alleged in a live social media address on Monday.

Two MLAs Expelled Ahead of Address

The remarks came shortly after Trinamool Congress announced the expulsion of two legislators — Sandipan Saha of the Entally constituency in North Kolkata, and Ritabrata Banerjee of Uluberia (Purba) in Howrah district — on grounds of anti-party conduct. While Mamata Banerjee did not name either legislator directly, she made her position unambiguous: 'The earlier they leave the party, the better it will be. We will ensure that such morally unethical people are unable to re-enter the party.'

She added that some leaders who rose to positions of MP and MLA on the strength of the party were now attempting to damage it from within — a pattern she described as 'bad blood' that had crept in during the party's years in power.

Permission Denied to Trinamool, Granted to Others

Banerjee also alleged selective denial of police permission for Trinamool Congress to hold public programmes and organisational activities, while similar permissions were reportedly being granted to parties she described as 'so-called friends of the BJP.' 'All they want is to break the Trinamool Congress from the inside. But the more they try to break our party, the stronger it will be,' she said.

Banerjee Condemns Attack on Abhishek Banerjee

In the same video address, Mamata Banerjee launched a sharp attack over the assault on her nephew and Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee at Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas district on Saturday. She alleged that police had arrested the person who intervened to protect Abhishek during the attack, rather than the attackers.

'I condemn the manner in which Abhishek was attacked on Saturday. I do not know what could have happened had he not gotten the helmet in time. He could have died on the spot,' she said, adding that BJP leaders had since made remarks about him being 'still alive' — comments she called out directly. This comes amid heightened political tensions in West Bengal following the recently concluded state elections, which the BJP has contested on multiple grounds.

What Comes Next

The expulsions and Banerjee's public allegations signal a hardening of internal discipline within Trinamool Congress. Whether more legislators face action — and whether the BJP responds formally to the charges — will shape the immediate political climate in the state. Observers note this is not the first time Trinamool has accused the BJP of poaching its legislators, but the direct allegation of police complicity marks a sharper escalation in tone.