A 14-second video clip circulating on social media has shown a person resembling BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari who promised actions which would facilitate central intervention in Bengal.

Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, is yet to comment on the clip. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee said Adhikari's purported comment was proof that the violence during the panchayat polls had been orchestrated with ulterior motives.

In the video, the person who resembles Adhikari said in Bengali: “The streets will show the way. Such a situation will have to be created that (Article) 355 will become a must. There is no other way out for Bengal.”

“One has to get a lot of things done. How one has to get them done, I know,” the person adds.

The clip that appeared to be from an interview given to a Bengali news channel was shared on social media by Trinamul Congress leaders, including RTI activist and party spokesperson Saket Gokhale.

Calls to Adhikari’s cellphone from this newspaper for his response to the controversy went unanswered. In his public appearances on Thursday, he uncharacteristically shied away from interacting with the media.

Talking to The Telegraph, Mamata said: “This (clip) proves that the violence was man-made, with ulterior motives. The people should know of this reality.”

The chief minister was suggesting that the violence during the panchayat polls — over 55 people, including at least 25 from Trinamul had died — had been orchestarted to create a situation for the central intervention in Bengal.

The state BJP leadership has disowned the comment and questioned the authenticity of the video.

BJP state chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said: “A responsible leader of our party, of his stature, could not have said something like that.”

“As a party, we are against the invocation of Articles 355 and 356 to have Presidential rule imposed. We will defeat and remove Trinamul from power democratically with the blessings of the Bengal electorate,” he added.

Under Article 356, the Union government can take direct control of a state's rule, citing the failure of the administrative machinery. This provision is dubbed as President’s Rule.

Similarly, if Article 355 is imposed, the Union government is authorised to protect the state from external as well as internal disturbances.

Trinamul was unwilling to accept the BJP's argument.

“Shocking clinching evidence of how BJP incited violence in Bengal during Panchayat polls. BJP Leader of Opposition in Bengal @SuvenduWB admits OPENLY on camera that BJP “must create an atmosphere in Bengal to bring in President’s Rule”. This is why BJP unleashed violence - to bring Bengal under the direct rule of Modi Govt,” Gokhale said in a tweet. He has been nominated as one of Trinamul candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections in the state.

Trinamul state general-secretary Kunal Ghosh said it was a “clear announcement of conspiracy”, accusing Adhikari of attempting to create a situation for central intervention.

“Ld Court and Administration should take necessary action against him. @MamataOfficial @abhishekaitc @AmitShah @rashtrapatibhvn,” tweeted Ghosh, tagging President Droupadi Murmu, Mamata, Trinamul national general-secretary Abhishek Banerjee and Union home minister Amit Shah.

Ever since Mamata rode to power for the third successive term in 2021, the BJP and its Hindutva constituents have been clamouring for the Presidnet's rule in Bengal.

Many hardliner figures were heard shouting from the proverbial rooftops, demanding President’s rule in what the far-Right in India like to call “Bengalistan” or “West Bangladesh”