The Trinamool Congress says like Mamata Banerjee, the party will also not be cowed down by BJP.

The Trinamool Congress today said Mamata Banerjee is today's "Jhansi ki Rani" and warned the BJP government that like the brave queen, the TMC chief will not be cowed down by "attacks" as the people are with her party.

Participating in the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address in Lok Sabha, TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi drew a parallel between the central government and the pre-independence British regime, alleging that both have used threats and intimidation to quell opposition.

"Recently a movie called Manikarnika was released.... We are reminded of Queen of Jhansi.... Who was Rani Jhansi? She was an ordinary women whom people chose that she should guard Jhansi," he said.

"In Bengal also, there is Rani Jhansi whose name is Mamata Banerjee. Mamata Banerjee said that ''sar kata sakte haen lekin sar jhuka sakte nahin'' (we are ready to be beheaded but will not kowtow). She is today's Rani Jhansi who is an ordinary women and not a queen," Mr Trivedi said, referring to the West Bengal chief minister.

"No matter how much you attack us it will not affect us as the public is with us," he said.

Against the backdrop of the standoff between the Centre and the West Bengal government on the CBI issue, he alleged that the central government is trying to frighten the TMC.

"What happened in Bengal a few days back was done by the British government," he said. "During British time what did the Britishers do? They used to scare you, threaten you. They used to enter your house and tell you to support them or else they would attack you. Today the condition is the same," he said.