Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of using pressure and agencies to trigger defections.
She defended Abhishek Banerjee, praising him for refusing political compromise.
Madan Mitra joined Ritabrata Banerjee’s rebel camp after quitting the Trinamool Congress.
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that she has “learnt her lessons” and apologised to the public after MLA Madan Mitra became another Trinamool Congress leader to join the rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee.
“We have learnt lessons, I want to apologise on behalf of 'traitors' who sided with BJP," Mamata Banerjee said in a press conference.
Slamming BJP, Mamata Banerjee further said that the rival party wishes ill upon her. "BJP wished for me to get a heart attack, I will live till I see your end," she said.
TMC chief also asked the remaining leaders in Trinamool Congress to leave the party if they have such intentions.
"Those who wants to leave, please do. If I can restart (the party) in 2006, I can do it in 2026," she said.
Her remarks came amid fresh turmoil within the Trinamool Congress after Mitra shifted from Mamata’s camp to the rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee. Mitra described the move as a change within the legislature rather than a complete political break.
He said he had "only changed my room in the Assembly" and added that he left the TMC after the party rejected his demand that national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee "step aside for six months."
Mamata Banerjee said Abhishek Banerjee had been repeatedly targeted and turned into a convenient reason for attacks on the party.
She referred to summons issued to him and members of his family and praised him for choosing to continue the political fight instead of seeking relief through a compromise.
"Abhishek Banerjee has been turned into an excuse. His family members were summoned. Had he wanted, he could have got relief. But he did not run away from the battlefield. The way he has continued to fight, all his flaws have been forgiven," she said.
The TMC chief further accused the BJP of using investigative agencies and the police to pressure opposition leaders into defecting.
"We still have 18 MPs in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Those Parliamentarians who have joined the 'setting company' have done so because they are afraid of the police," she claimed.
Mamata Banerjee, who served three consecutive terms as West Bengal chief minister after first taking office in 2011, has faced a series of political setbacks since the Trinamool Congress lost the 2026 Assembly elections. Banerjee also lost her constituency to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who subsequently became chief minister.
The party was later hit by a split led by Ritabrata Banerjee, who has claimed the support of 58 Trinamool Congress MLAs. During a special session last month, the rebel faction removed Mamata Banerjee as party chairperson and appointed Arup Roy in her place.
