Will sit wherever they stop me, Mamata vows to hit streets despite police curbs

MP, June 2, 2026, 12:43 AM, Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday asserted that she would go ahead with the protest programme even if the police stopped it.

“If they bar me, I will sit wherever they stop me. We are people of the streets and cannot be silenced,” she said in a video message from her Kalighat residence, while also warning that she could take the agitation to Delhi if necessary.

A sit-in protest was scheduled on Tuesday at Rani Rashmoni Avenue, but police have denied permission for it. Banerjee said she would instead lead a rally.

The remarks came hours after the TMC expelled Uluberia East MLA Ritabrata Banerjee and Entally MLA Sandipan Saha over alleged anti-party activities. Without naming the two legislators, Mamata Banerjee accused certain leaders of conspiring to weaken the party and maintaining links with the BJP. She claimed: “This is only going to strengthen the party.”

Claiming that some leaders had already decided to switch sides, she said they should not later accuse the party leadership of being inaccessible. She stated: “As long as the workers remain with us, that is what matters. TMC is not for leaders, it is for workers.”

Launching a sharp attack on dissidents, she said those in touch with the BJP did not truly love the party. “Many are leaving at the BJP’s behest and playing a game to break the party. But I am also a big player. Wait and watch,” she warned.

Mamata Banerjee also targeted the BJP over the recent attack on Abhishek Banerjee, claiming he could have suffered fatal injuries had he not been wearing a helmet. She stated: “Complete lawlessness is prevailing — even Hitler did not do such things.”

Reiterating her allegations of electoral malpractice, she said: “I was not defeated; I was made to lose. TMC was made to lose. The BJP rigged 177 seats,” she alleged.

She also accused the police of remaining passive while TMC leaders and workers were being attacked and claimed that party workers were being threatened. “The MLAs are unable to step out of their homes,” she said.