If required, I can even sit on dharma near the PM's house: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who on Wednesday sat on a dharna against the central government over alleged blocking of state money, said that she would sit dharna in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's house if required.

"I am working for people. I am fighting for the people whose money has been stopped for 100 days' work. I am sitting for the rights of common people whose money has been blocked by the Centre. If required, Mamata can even sit on dharma near the PM's house. I have the courage," ANI quoted the Trinamool supremo as saying.

Mamata claimed that the two-day dharna was staged to protest against the BJP-led central government's alleged discriminatory attitude towards West Bengal and she was sitting on dharna in her capacity as the TMC chief and not as the chief minister.

"You have blocked the money by invoking a so-called Section 27. But remember, people will vote you out with section 420 in 2024. You will not come to power," she added.

She then accused the Centre of harassing the opposition parties through central agencies. "A babu is saying that I will send CBI and ED to your house if you speak against me," claimed the West Bengal Chief Minister.

Criticising the BJP further, Mamata said, "There were some good people in BJP. I used to respect Atal ji a lot. But nowadays the kind of material is there...A tubewell would not be made. You are taking money in the name of GST. I will ask all the opposition parties if there is no one who is tortured. They already have started calling women from home. I say why do you spare the small child. See in which level they have gone down...From Akhilesh, Uddhav, Arvind, Lalu and KCR all are thieves and only you are sadhu."

The protest was held ahead of the panchayat elections in the state.

The TMC supremo said that the opposition parties should put a united fight against the BJP. She called the saffron party as "Bhajpa washing machine". "The so-called double-engine government has failed. BJP has turned into a washing machine. Those who do not know how to respect women, are now giving lectures about the Constitution," she said. "One of the BJP's goons was saying that they would come out armed on the streets during the Ram Navami procession. We would not stop any Ram Navami procession. But remember, Ramzan is going on...The law will take its own course if you try to incite violence in Muslim-dominated areas. There is every right to carry out processions and public meetings. But no one has the right to instigate riots," the West Bengal CM added.