NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saugata Roy on Saturday alleged that the BJP was attempting to take control of the party’s offices across West Bengal, a day after TMC’s rebel faction took possession of the Mamata Banerjee-led party’s office in Kolkata.Reacting to the development, Roy dismissed rebel faction leader Ritabrata Banerjee’s claim that the dissident group is the “real” TMC.“Ritabrata was a CPM man. Why does he keep talking about the party? His words carry no weight,” Roy told ANI. Ritabrata Banerjee joined the Trinamool Congress in 2020 after resigning from the CPM in 2017.Referring to the incident at the TMC’s office, Roy alleged that a group of people had locked the premises and that the police stopped him from removing the lock.“Yesterday, some people came and put a lock on our office. When I went to break the lock, the police arrived and wouldn’t allow me to even touch it,” he said.Claiming that the incident reflected a wider pattern, Roy added, “That is exactly what the BJP is doing. They are taking over our offices all across Bengal. They are attacking our grassroots workers. The situation in West Bengal is very bad.”Roy asserted that the TMC would continue its political fight despite the recent developments.“This is a long war, and we will fight. We don’t have any other option left,” he stated.On Friday, rebel Trinamool MLAs led by Ritabrata Banerjee, Firhad Hakim, Jawed Khan and Golam Rabbani took control of the party office on the ground floor of the Metropolitan Building off EM Bypass before locking the premises and leaving.This came even as the Election Commission has directed both TMC factions to submit their claims and counterclaims by July 6 over which group is the “real” TMC.
