Mamata attacks Trinamool rebels and forces them to join BJP

Accusing the dissidents of conspiring with the BJP to create a split, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee urged them to formally join the saffron party on Saturday (July 4, 2026), if they dare, in Kolkata, West Bengal. | Photo credit: PTI

Trinamool Congress president and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday (July 4, 2026) hit out at party rebels, saying they committed betrayal after winning the party symbol and forced them to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Also read | TMC’s Chandrima Bhattacharya resigns as the party’s Bengal chief a month after being appointed

“The party was like a mother to you and you betrayed it. You directly support the BJP. You will support the BJP and then you will claim that you are Trinamool (but), that cannot happen because the ideology of Trinamool is against the BJP,” Ms Banerjee said during a live social media encounter.

The former chief minister broke her weeks-long silence as her party split with a majority of MLAs and Lok Sabha MPs who decided to switch loyalties after their defeat in the assembly elections.

“Those who are dishonest and traitors, those who are sponsored by BJP, I will allow them to join BJP. With the support of BJP, you want to break the party. What do you think, I am dead?” she asked.

Ms Banerjee made her remarks two days after rebel MLAs led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee appeared before a full bench of the Election Commission of India (EC). The EC asked both factions of the party to respond.

“Believe that the symbol will be with us”

Ms. Banerjee said that if the EC decides to rip out her party symbol and give it to the rebels, even then it will not make much difference because the people will decide who the Trinamool Congress is.

“We believe that the symbol will remain with us. But when we imagine that Vanish Kumar (pointing to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar) who led the election to finish us off, that symbol is taken from us, how does it matter?” she said.

Ms. Banerjee spoke on a number of issues, including school children not getting eggs under the mid-day meal scheme, the denial of permission for the party to hold a rally on July 21 outside Victoria House and the arrest of party workers of the ruling BJP in the state.

“It has been noted that repeated attacks have been carried out against Trinamool Congress leaders and workers, including attacks on Abhishek Banerjee, Mahua Moitra and several party leaders and workers,” Ms Banerjee said. She claimed that many party workers were subjected to harassment in detention, including being forced to sleep on the floor, handcuffed, humiliated and subjected to degrading treatment.

Extends wishes to Suvenda

Conveying her best wishes to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, the Trinamool Congress president said she had campaigned for him several times.

“Let me say this: becoming chief minister does not erase history. You were in the Congress once, lost elections several times and I personally campaigned in your constituency because it was my responsibility – not something to take credit for. You also served as an MLA and minister in the Trinamool Congress for almost a decade, holding portfolios like transport and irrigation, overseeing several districts,” she said.

Mr Adhikari, who twice defeated Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram in 2021 assembly polls and Bhabanipur in 2026 polls, defected from Trinamool Congress to BJP in December 2020.

Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee asked how so many people could become dishonest and suggested that introspection was needed by the Trinamool Congress president. He said the Mamat Banerjee-led party was “run like a private company” and leaders were given no respect.

Published – 4 Jul 2026 23:11 IST