Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday obliquely referred to long-time Trinamul leader Tapas Roy’s defection to the BJP, attributing it to intimidation by central agencies.

A day after Roy joined the BJP, Mamata said: “Some people are going to the BJP as there was once an ED raid at their home. They are so scared. The ED is telling them to go to the BJP.”

“If one is in Trinamul they are a ‘thief’, but they get cleansed miraculously once they join the BJP. The BJP is a washing machine, a washing powder,” said Mamata at Esplanade, referring to the Enforcement Directorate raid on Roy’s residence in January, allegedly in connection to a municipality recruitment scam. The five-time Trinamul MLA claimed that Calcutta North MP Sudip Bandopadhyay played a role in directing the ED to his home. Roy had also expressed resentment towards Mamata, for allegedly not reaching out to him for 52 days, till he decided to leave.

At Esplanade, Mamata praised Bandyopadhyay and his wife, Chowringhee MLA Nayna, for their efforts in her march between College Square and Dorina crossing.

She added: "They (central forces) are on the move.... Don’t be scared of them. If they ask you whom you voted for, don’t answer them."

Defection from BJP

The BJP's Ranaghat South MLA and a prominent face of the Matua community, Mukut Mani Adhikari, joined Trinamul on Thursday in Mamata Banerjee's presence.

Adhikari was on the stage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Arambagh meeting on March 1 as a Matua face of the saffron camp.