The Trinamul Congress chief, Mamata Banerjee today held a teleconference with the TMC MPs and MLAs from Murshidabad district, sources said. The issue of TMC’s defeat, purportedly owing to erosion of the party’s Muslim vote-bank, in the recent byelection in minority-dominated Sagardighi Assembly constituency in Murshidabad district, was a major topic of discussion when she talked to the Murshidabad MP, Abu Taher Khan and Jangipur MP, Khalilur Rahaman today.

Both the MPs reportedly alleged that some press media propagated false reports of their nexus with the state Congress president, Adhir Chowdhury. Apparently irked at the MPs’ allegation, Miss Banerjee directed the district TMC leadership to file FIR against the misleading media reports.

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According to media reports, Miss Banerjee on Friday in Kolkata took up the postmortem of TMC’s Sagardighi debacle where she allegedly snubbed both the MPs ~ Khalilur Rahaman and Abu Taher Khan ~ for maintaining secret tie-up with Adhir Chowdhury, the Congress MP from Berhampore Lok Sabha constituency.

The TMC MLAs barring a few from Murshidabad district, and daily media reporters were present at the district TMC party office at Berhampore where Miss Banerjee clarified that she said nothing of this kind or blamed her party MPs for losing the Sagardighi bypoll.

A section of the media has resorted to falsehood intended to make the minority electorate hostile against TMC, Miss Banerjee alleged. If necessary, FIRs would be lodged against the misleading media, she told her party leaders here. She also alleged that the BJP, CPIM and the Congress were working together to dislodge TMC’s minority base by using money and false campaigns.