Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday told her party MPs during a closed-door meeting in New Delhi to rise against “anti-people policies” of the Narendra Modi government both inside and outside Parliament.

“We have to protest against the anti-people policies of the government both inside and outside Parliament.… There are issues like price rise, which is affecting ordinary people. We should also highlight how the government is using central agencies like the ED and the CBI against democratically elected governments,” Mamata, who reached the national capital this evening, was quoted to have told Trinamul Congress MPs during a 30-minute session.

After landing in Delhi, Mamata went straight to 7 Mahadev Road, the official residence of the party’s Rajya Sabha member Sukhendu Shekhar Roy, the venue of the pre-scheduled meeting.

The timing of Mamata’s four-day visit to Delhi — during which she will meet Prime Minister Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and attend a meeting of the Niti Ayog — is significant in the backdrop of the “SSC recruitment scam” that has come as an embarrassment for the ruling party in Bengal.

“Over the past couple of years, Mamata’s visits to Delhi had always aroused interest as she had been seen as a major player in the Opposition space... And she has always used her Delhi trip to stress the need for Opposition unity to oust the Modi government. It remains to be seen what message she gives this time,” said a political observer.

Multiple sources in the national capital said Mamata’s image as one of the strongest anti-BJP voices in the country took a beating after Trinamul decided to abstain from the vice-presidential election scheduled for August 6.

In the closed-door meeting, Mamata, made it clear to her MPs that the party would not only intensify its anti-BJP stance but would also stand united with other Opposition parties.