West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday launched a sharp veiled attack at the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying “whoever messes with us will be destroyed”. She made the remark at a gathering during Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations at Red Road in Kolkata.

“Hindus stand for renunciation, Muslims for integrity, Christians for love and Sikhs stand for sacrifice,” Banerjee said. “This is our beloved Hindustan and we will protect it.”

Addressing the matter of manipulation of electronic voting machines, she took a dig at the BJP without naming it. “When the sun comes up, it is initially very hot,” she said. “But it cools down fast. The manner in which they captured EVMs, it is certain that they will also go down very soon.”

The chief minister told people there was nothing to be scared and ended her speech by raising the slogans of “Jai Hind” and “Jai Bangla”.

Mamata Banerjee, who is one of the key national faces of the Opposition, led an aggressive campaign against the saffron party in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha elections. However, the BJP won 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state and 303 of the 542 seats nationally. The Trinamool Congress won just 22 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, down from 34 seats in 2014.

Today, like previous years, I attended #Eid prayers at Red Road and exchanged greetings with all.



Some pictures of the occasion are uploaded here for all of you. #EidMubarak once again pic.twitter.com/I9gsNAZZuO — Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) June 5, 2019

Banerjee has repeatedly accused the BJP of using money, muscle power, institutions, media, and the government to win the elections. On Tuesday, BJP National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya reiterated his party’s claim that the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal might not be able to complete its term, and urged party workers to prepare themselves as an “alternative force” before the Assembly elections in 2021.

Last week, two Trinamool Congress legislators and more than 60 councillors joined the BJP. At the event, Vijayvargiya claimed it was “just the first phase”, and more leaders would come into the saffron party’s fold “in seven phases just as the elections were held in seven phases”.