Mamata's minister calls CPI-M "snakes"

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and West Bengal state minister Jyotipriya Mallick on Thursday triggered a furore as he launched a series of personal attacks on several opposition leaders and called them "snakes".

Mincing no words against the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), the minister said, "CPI-M is like a snake. What you do when a snake enters your house? Do the same when you see a CPI-M worker. Never talk, eat or mix with such people."

Addressing party workers at Birati in North 24 Parganas, Mallick described the CPI-M as "the worst political party, whose leaders have to be smeared with black paint as people have rejected them".

At one point he also appeared to launch blunt threats as he asked CPI-M leaders to not hold meetings saying "people may beat them up and we have nothing to do in the event of that happening. People will not spare them if they commit any excess".

Mallick also took jibes at several Congress and CPI-M leaders including former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

"Brand Buddha has been banned. These days he addresses people only in places like Barasat, Baranagar and elsewhere because in other places women are waiting with brooms to chase him away," he said.

He also took on leaders from former ally Congress party harshly as he went on to call Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury "a murderer" and the ruling party at the Centre "a foolish party".