Midnapore, Sept. 24: State Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury today said there was "nothing" he could do to stem the crossovers from his party to Trinamul as those who were defecting were doing so "for the sake of money".

Chowdhury, who addressed Congress workers and supporters in Midnapore town, said: "If there was anything to be done, we would have. But there is nothing I can do as of now. Those going to the ruling party have no morals."

Several of those who had switched camps cited Chowdhury's leadership as one of the reasons behind their decision.

Chowdhury's comments came a day after Trinamul took control of the 68-member Congress-run Murshidabad zilla parishad by winning a no-confidence motion 43-0. Since the Assembly elections earlier this year, Trinamul has wrested control of a number of civic bodies from the Congress, including in Chowdhury's home turf Murshidabad.

Three Congress MLAs, including six-time legislator Manas Bhuniya, have joined Trinamul recently.

Chowdhury today accused Trinamul of "buying" the leaders of his party.

"They are bribing them. The rate for an MLA is as high as Rs 2 crore. The Congress does not have the money or the willingness to participate in such buying and selling," Chowdhury said. "No, they are not defecting for the sake of development. It's all a game of money."

Told about the allegations, Bhuniya, who joined Trinamul after being with the Congress for 46 years, said: "His physical and mental health must be examined."

Ministers Subhendu Adhikari and Firhad Hakim and Trinamul Youth Congress president Abhishek Banerjee today met the chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of five civic bodies in Murshidabad that Trinamul has taken over from the Congress.

In Jalpaiguri today, CPM state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra said party leaders joining Trinamul were "fascinated with chairs" and were being inducted into the ruling party like "cattle".

In Delhi, a three-member Congress delegation led by party MP Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury met chief election commissioner Nasim Zaidi yesterday over the recent defections of elected representatives to Trinamul.

The delegation, which included leader of the Opposition Abdul Mannan and Supreme Court lawyer Subhasish Bhowmick, complained to Zaidi that the elected representatives were "betraying democracy and the electorate's wish".

Earlier this week, Mannan had said he would move the Supreme Court seeking amendments to the anti-defection law.