As tensions escalate, Mamata Banerjee calls BJP a 'militant organisation'

Escalating the already heightened tensions between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday called the BJP a militant organisation.

Speaking at a party conference, the head of the TMC said, "We are not a militant organisation like the BJP. They are creating fights not only among Christians, Muslims but also among Hindus."

The statement comes at a time when tensions between the two parties are escalating in the state following a spate of killings of both BJP and TMC workers ever since the state went to the polls earlier this year.

BJP worker Dulal Kumar was found hanging from a pole in Purulia district on June 2. On May 30 in the same district, a Dalit worker, Trilochan Mahato, was also found hanging from a tree. The BJP has claimed that these deaths were done to avenge the deaths of the two TMC workers earlier this year.

While the TMC has accused the BJP of the killings, the Amit Shah lead party has rubbished their claims.

Earlier, BJP West Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh had stated that "if Trinamool leaders indulge in hooliganism they will be either in jail or eliminated in encounters."

[With inputs from ANI]