The rift within the Trinamul Congress widened in Kalimpong district as MP and district party president Shanta Chhetri on Friday came down heavily on her colleague Chawang Bhutia who had accused the legislator of running the organisation without consultations.

Without naming Bhutia who had recently filed written complaints with the party’s central leadership against her, the MP said if anybody had brought any charges against her, he would have to prove them or face consequences.

“When somebody has questioned my integrity and decades of service to people, it can’t be ignored. He will have to prove it or I will have no other option than to take legal steps,” said Chhetri.

The senior Trinamul leader, who has been in politics for three decades, claimed that nobody had ever raised any such allegation against her so far.

“I don’t want to indulge in the dirty games of some people, who have taken party posts as their personal property. Everybody has to follow the discipline of the party, as its posts can be acquired by dedication, hard work and discipline. It is the party that reserves the right to appoint the best person for that post without pride or prejudice. All appointments took place based on majority opinion at party meetings,” the Trinamul MP said.

A few days ago, Bhutia, who claims to be one of the first torchbearers of Mamata Banerjee’s party in Kalimpong, had approached some senior party leaders in Calcutta. “The MP is running the party according to her whims and without the consent of state leaders,” he had said.

On Friday, Bhutia could not be contacted. A number of phone calls made to him went unanswered.

Some other Trinamul leaders of Kalimpong also came out in support of Chhetri. They said last month, committees of three organisational blocks in Kalimpong had passed resolutions that said the district youth president (Bhutia was in the post then) should be removed.

“It was then that the reshuffle was done. He could not accept the decision of his removal and hence, he is raising some baseless charges against the MP,” said Suman Gurung, the district coordinator of Trinamul in Kalimpong.