Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said the BJP was a party of thieves and purportedly exhorted Trinamul Congress workers to build such a narrative against the saffron camp across Bengal.

"Gali gali mein shore hain.... BJP party chor hai (There is noise from every corner that the BJP is a party of thieves)," said the Bengal chief minister, setting the tone for an aggressive campaign against the BJP in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.

She was speaking at a Trinamul workshop in Chakla in North 24-Parganas, a district that has become a cause of concern for the party because of rising factional feuds following the arrest of food and supplies minister Jyoti Priya Mallick on charges of irregularities in the public distribution system.

The last couple of months saw the extensive use of the word "chor" in Bengal politics as BJP functionaries, especially leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, were attacking Trinamul leaders — including Mamata — with the same term. The BJP's campaign came in the backdrop of the arrest of some Trinamul leaders in corruption cases.

“Didi has advised us to use it as a counter-attack against the BJP’s concerted propaganda calling our leaders thieves.... It will be used across the state,” a Trinamul leader said after the meeting.

North 24-Parganas — parts of which have a high concentration of the Matua community into which the BJP has made inroads — is a district with five Lok Sabha seats. Of the five seats, two — Bongaon and Barrackpore — were won by the BJP in the 2019 general election. Over the last couple of years, the BJP gained strength in the district, especially in Dum Dum and Barasat.

To buttress the "chor" argument, Mamata accused the BJP of indulging in corruption by using agencies like the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI.

“They are looting money using the ED and the CBI. All the seized money is being deposited in the BJP’s pocket,” she alleged.

“During the Covid situation, they raised money in the name of PM CARES Fund, but nobody knows how much money they raised. You should know how much commission they (BJP leaders) take in every project. But they raise finger at the Trinamul Congress for corruption!” she added.

Besides explaining the reasons behind calling the BJP a "party of thieves", Mamata lent her weight behind Mallick.

“They arrested Balu (Jyoti Priya) so that he does not work for the party. They kept him in jail so that he could not work for the party during the polls.... But no BJP leader was arrested for looting money,” alleged the Trinamul chairperson.

Without naming Adhikari, who is most vocal against Trinamul terming its leaders as "Chor”, she said “traitors” were not any "minor thieves", but were "robbers". "Whenever you spot them, shout 'chor, chor'," said Mamata.

She asked Trinamul workers to stay united. “I shall not allow any local level bickering.... I work 365 days for the sake of people. But if anybody considers himself a big leader and loves himself more than the party, he or she will not be spared," Mamata said categorically while reminding the party workers that Trinamul was meant "to serve people, not to serve self".

Without making a clear reference to the spate of recent incidents of open conflicts among some prominent leaders in the district, she cautioned all. “I have heard that in some areas, some leaders began to think themselves big ones…. They have forgotten the party for their interests.... One should not ignore others considering himself superior.”

The chief minister advised the Trinamul leaders and supporters to work in a well-organised manner and bring students and the youths to the forefront of the party activities without ignoring the elderly and senior leaders.

“... senior leaders cannot be ignored. They should be given respect,” she said.

“Bhuley jaben na purano chal bhatey barey (All that is old is not worn) aar notun chal agey barey (youths lead the front), Ami dujon ke chai (I need both),” Mamata added.

To look after the Trinamul organisation in North-24 Parganas, Mamata constituted a 20-member core committee headed by Nirmal Ghosh to review the party's activities every 10 days and submit a report to her. Sujit Bose has been made convener of Dumdum and Basirhat, while Partha Bhowmick was assigned the charge of Barrackpore and Narayan Goswami was asked to handle the Habra area.