Trinamul Congress MP Saugata Roy on Sunday said that time has come for those who joined the party for financial benefits to leave.

Roy's statement comes amid protests by Opposition BJP, CPM and Congress, alleging corruption by the ruling TMC at all levels of the administration in West Bengal.

"Time has come for those who had joined the party for financial benefits to leave," Roy said at a TMC meeting in his Dum Dum constituency.

Claiming that 95 per cent of TMC functionaries work in a transparent manner, the veteran MP said that the leadership does not want the party's image to be sullied by a few unscrupulous ones.

"Time has possibly come to hold screenings within the party," he said.

With panchayat elections in the state due by mid-2023, opposition parties have been making corruption a major plank.

TMC MLA Madan Mitra also pitched for a peaceful panchayat election, urging party candidates not to think of winning by indulging of violence.

"It will not be right to think of winning by beating up anyone," he said at another meeting in Kamarhati in the northern outskirts of the city.