Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said the CPM harmads (mercenaries) involved in the Nandigram “recapture” operation were donning the saffron jersey now and had become “jalhad (executioner)” of the BJP.

Addressing an election rally at Khejuri in East Midnapore, the Trinamul Congress supremo said: “The red harmads of the Left are donning the saffron jersey now. They have become the BJP’s jalhad.”

The Bengal chief minister said she and her followers had left the Congress because the party had sold itself to the CPM. “The Left had sold itself to the BJP now. What a shame,” she said.

Mamata recalled the CPM’s attempt to “recapture” Nandigram that was codenamed “Operation Sunrise” and said: “We can never forget those days of terror…. On March 14, 2007, they shot dead 14 people (in Nandigram).”

“There was a time when people could not enter Khejuri, Egra, Patashpur and Heria (East Midnapore). After (Operation) Sunrise, my own car was stopped at Kolaghat,” she added.

Khejuri is separated from Nandigram by a canal and falls under the Contai Lok Sabha. Nandigram is in the Tamluk parliamentary constituency.

Mamata addressed an election rally at Tamluk also on Sunday.

She alleged that the BJP was spending crores of rupees on the Lok Sabha polls.

“They are spending crores of money on election campaign. I will request the EC (Election Commission) to look into the expenditure of the Prime Minister’s election rallies. How much money is spent? Which agencies are being used?” she said.

“BJP has been hiring agencies from Mumbai and Delhi for the campaign materials, while our party members are doing it for us. They have looted public money and are spending it on the Lok Sabha polls,” she alleged.

Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of spreading falsehoods, Mamata said: “The entire police force of Bengal is bad? Only central forces are good? The PM is regularly violating the model code of conduct. No action is being taken.”

The Trinamul chief warned that if the BJP was voted to power, elections would no longer be held in the country. “Your money will no longer be safe in the banks. A person, who can demonetise notes on his whims, can also kill democracy at his will,” she said.

Mamata said every festival was celebrated in Bengal and stressed that the society was not complete without all communities.