Mahua Moitra of the Trinamool Congress once again called Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti a “liar” and said the party will continue its protest, even as its general secretary Abhishek Banerjee announced an indefinite sit-in on Thursday in front of the official residence (Raj Bhavan) of West Bengal’s governor CV Ananada Bose hours after he flew off to visit flood affected areas of north Bengal and then to Delhi.

The TMC has been protesting the alleged withholding of West Bengal’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) dues by the Centre.

“This is going to continue till we get our dues. We started it in Delhi and we are continuing it in Bengal. We are waiting for the governor to come back. So we will wait. We are very patient. Once he finishes his helicopter tour of north Bengal and Delhi, we hope he will have time to come to the state and listen to rice producers of lakhs and crores of people who have been denied their daily wages,” Mahua Moitra told news agency ANI on Thursday.

Hitting out at the minister of state for rural development, the TMC MP said, “Sadhvi Niranjan is a liar and I already said it on record. She gave us an appointment. It was not possible for us to enter the Krishi Bhavan without an appointment. There were 40 of us. We waited, but she refused to meet. She refused to meet the victims’ families. She called them janata (public). I want to ask her a question if janata didn’t vote for you, how are you sitting there? She is one of the biggest BJP liars I have ever seen.”

On Wednesday too, Moitra alleged that Jyoti was lying, in response to a post shared by the MoS that said she waited for over two hours to meet Trinamool MPs at her office, but the delegation did not show up.

Moitra has alleged that Union minister made Trinamool MPs “wait for 3 hours and then ran away through back door” to avoid meeting the delegation who had come from West Bengal to discuss the MGNREGA funds issue.

“Sorry @SadhviNiranjan you are lying and so (and I am being polite). You gave our delegation an appointment. You vetted all names, checked each one off before allowing us to enter, made us wait for 3 hours & then ran away via the back door ,” the TMC firebrand wrote on X (formally Twitter).

The development came as the TMC delegation headed by party Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday went on to meet Jyoti. The TMC leaders staged a protest at Rajghat on Monday demanding the release of MGNREGA funds.

On Tuesday, Banerjee alleged that MPs, including women, were manhandled by the Delhi Police at Krishi Bhavan as they were protesting over the release of MGNREGA funds. He also went on to call it a “black day for Indian democracy” and called for a campaign ‘Raj Bhavan Abhiyan’ in Kolkata on October 5 against the atrocities.

On Thursday, Banerjee announced the sit-in after thousands of party functionaries and its top leadership marched up to the British-era edifice in Kolkata to protest. The huge show of strength brought traffic to a standstill in the heart of the busy metropolis.

“We had sought a meeting with the governor, but he did not grant us an audience. He has gone to North Bengal. It seems as if he regards us as bonded labourers. Today, we have come here, and we won’t end this demonstration until he meets with us,” Banerjee said addressing the gathering.

The party termed the governor’s absence from the city on a day when the TMC had given notice of its intention to hand over a memorandum to him and his suggestion that a delegation of TMC leaders fly down to meet him in North Bengal, as reflective of a “Zamindari” (feudal mindset).