BJP MP Tejasvi Surya  called the Mamata Banerjee government “autocratic, dictatorial and fascist”, prompting a sharp counterattack by Trinamool MP Nusrat Jahan. “Run to a mirror right now to figure out who the real fascists are,” she tweeted.

Mr Surya, at a press conference on Monday, said that he has given a privilege notice to the Lok Sabha Speaker against the top brass of the state administration, following violence at a BJP rally in Howrah, on Sunday.

“We will ensure that this autocratic, dictatorship and fascist government of Mamata Banerjee will exit in this election. I ask conscientious Indians who respect and value the Indian Constitution to raise voices against fascism in West Bengal, stand for the rule of law,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

In response, the actor-turned-politician accused the BJP of destroying the country with “autocracy and politics of hate”.

“Mr Tejasvi Surya, instead of making ridiculous statements, run to a mirror right now to figure out who the real fascists are. It’s your bosses at BJP who have destroyed this country with their autocracy and politics of hate since 2014,” she wrote on Twitter.

BJP supporters — who were protesting against a string of murders of party workers in Bengal — clashed with the police, throwing stones and blocking roads in Kolkata and Howrah.

Mr Surya has alleged that chemicals mixed with water were sprayed on BJP workers.

“Mamata’s administration in West Bengal is similar to North Korea’s autocratic regime,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

The BJP has intensified its political activities in Bengal ahead of next year’s assembly election. 

Last week, Home Minister Amit Shah was visiting the state, where, at a meeting with party office bearers, he put forward the party’s goal for the election — 200 out of 294 seats.

“The citizenship law will be implemented and refugees will get citizenship. It depends on the coronavirus pandemic. But it will be done. The law is in place,” Mr Shah later told reporters