District Trinamul leaders on Friday tried to control the “damage” caused by certain purported remarks of state tourism minister Gautam Deb made on Thursday as the saffron camp walked into the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO) in Calcutta to complain against the minister, accusing him of intimidating people during his campaign.

Deb, contesting from Dabgram-Fulbari, a seat that covers certain areas of Siliguri Municipal Corporation and four adjoining panchayats of Jalpaiguri district, lost his cool in Thakurnagar in the northeast end of Siliguri.

Approaching a government plot where a temporary structure of an ashram has come up, he approached the monk who runs the facility and told him that he would face eviction if he does not support Trinamul and backs the BJP instead.

A delegation of the state BJP went to the CEO’s office and filed a written complaint against Deb.

“The minister is openly intimidating people and asking them to vote for him, or else get ready for dire consequences. The election commission must act on it,” said a state BJP leader.

Jalpaiguri district administration served a notice to Deb for his Thursday’s remarks and he replied to it, said sources.

Deb’s remarks on Thursday had drawn flak from various quarters. Sikha Chatterjee, the BJP candidate from the seat, was among the first to react.

“It is the Trinamul leaders who helped people settle on government land against money and now they are threatening to evict them,” she had said.

On Friday, Trinamul leaders campaigning for Deb, tried to put the pressure on Chatterjee. “She (Chatterjee) was a Trinamul member of Rajganj panchayat samiti and was also party’s president in Dabgram. If such anomalies had occurred, she can’t evade responsibility. She and her party are now trying to reap political dividend out of a non-issue,” said Debasish Pramanik, the Trinamul president of Dabgram-Fulbari unit and a member of Jalpaiguri Zilla Parishad.

The minister, however, dodged the issue and instead, accused the BJP of tearing down Trinamul party flags, festoons and banners in some places of his constituency.

“This is something on which the election commission and the police should act and take steps against those doing such unethical activities. Siliguri has never seen such discourtesy in politics,” said Deb.