Banerjee said Army acted on BJP’s directions, but “not at fault themselves.”
Defence officials cited Supreme Court order limiting events at Maidan to two days.
BJP, CPI(M) dismissed Mamata’s charges as frustration and political drama.
Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal and the leader of the Trinamool Congress, charged that the Centre was "misusing" the Indian Army by tearing down a platform that had been set up here to protest alleged abuses of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in states that are run by the BJP.
According to PTI, when Banerjee hurried to the location, the Indian Army had already started to dismantle the TMC's stage, which had been set up next to the Gandhi statue in the Maidan neighbourhood of central Kolkata, on the grounds that the party had exceeded the program's authorized period.
"I do not blame the Army. This is the BJP's vendetta politics. The double-engine government of the BJP is to be blamed. They are misusing the Army. This is unethical, undemocratic, and it's a shame that the BJP has stooped to such levels," Banerjee alleged while speaking to reporters from the partially dismantled structure.
For almost a month, the TMC had been staging sit-ins at the location on Saturdays and Sundays.
"The BJP wants to misuse the Army for their own purposes. This is a sad message. They do not care about the country's internal issues or its border security. They only care about fighting the Trinamool Congress in Bengal. But the more they do this, the worse the result will be for them," Banerjee claimed.
PTI reported that, the CM insisted that before removing the stage, the Army ought to have conferred with the Kolkata Police.
"They could have called me, and I would have removed the stage within minutes. They could have contacted the state police or the Kolkata CP, since this was about law and order, and that is a state subject. They could have also spoken to our sports minister, Aroop Biswas like they did during the Durand Cup," she said, alleging that the police were deliberately insulted by this act on Police Day.
"It is not the Army's job to dismantle stages; it's the job of the police. They cannot intervene in political matters without the local police. Who are they to remove our flags and banners? The BJP gave them direction. The Army is not guilty, the BJP is. We have the acumen to understand that they did it upon instructions of the Union defence minister. I am blaming the BJP and the defence minister," Banerjee stated.
She asserted that no other party had a program at the location and that her party had paid the defence institution Rs 20,000 as a security deposit in exchange for clearance.
"I only appeal to the Army to remain neutral and not play in the hands of the BJP and not be involved in a dirty political game because everybody loves them," the chief minister stated.
Reportedly, about 200 army personnel ran from the site" as soon as they noticed her coming, she claimed.
"Why are you running, I asked. You are my friends? This is not your fault," Banerjee stated.
The leader asserted that such actions only strengthened her resolve to strike back harder.
"I do not need Modi Babu's permission for conducting a programme, I take sanction from the people. I will not blame the Army, because they work for the nation. Does the PM take permission from us when he comes here? We allow it because that is political courtesy," she said.
The head of the Trinamool Congress ordered party leaders, including ministers Aroop Biswas and Firhad Hakim, who went with her to the location, to transfer the protest site to the Esplanade crossing, which is a few hundred meters away, starting on Tuesday.
"From tomorrow, the dharna against linguistic terror will happen daily. Make the stage where it is under the KMC," she told the ministers.
Banerjee announced that protest rallies will happen on Tuesday in all blocks, wards, and districts "because of what the BJP did today".
According to a defence official, the Supreme Court has ordered the Indian Army (Local Military Authority, Kolkata) to permit events in the Maidan area for a maximum of two days.
"Permission for events greater than three days needs to be obtained from the MoD, Govt of India.
"Permission for the conduct of events was provided for two days. However, the stage has been set up for almost a month. Several reminders have been sent to the organisers for the removal of the temporary structure. However, it was not removed," the defence official said in a statement.
PTI reported that the BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya said it was Banerjee's "frustration" that made her take on the defence forces.
"Such things happen when you remain sleepless for nights in fear of losing power that's imminent. She has enjoyed unbridled power for long, and when the threat of her ouster is clear and present, she takes her frustrations out on the Army and levels wild allegations against the BJP," he claimed.
CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty maintained that TMC's 'Bhasha Andolan' demonstrations hardly have mass appeal.
"The Army did to the TMC what the police do to opposition parties regularly. The CM is responsible for the destruction of the Bengali language and identity. No one cares what the TMC is doing on the streets," Chakraborty claimed.
