Calcutta, Feb. 19: Mamata Banerjee today told her MLAs in Calcutta that 'we can tear apart a tiger's claws'.

In Delhi, Derek O'Brien showed how by pushing Abhishek Banerjee, the chief minister's nephew, to the frontline and asking journalists to draw their own conclusions on Mukul Roy's role.

Minutes later, Trinamul all-India general secretary Roy retorted: 'Rahul Gandhi ele Ahmed Patel chhoto hoyna (Rahul Gandhi's rise does not lessen the importance of Ahmed Patel).'

Not to be left behind, Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek threw his hat in the ring, his comments suggesting that he had been stung by the Rahul comparison.

The fissures in the ties between Mamata and Roy appeared to have widened further today with both camps taking potshots at each other.

The Trinamul chief was the first off the blocks, sending the message that the party would act tough if taunted.

At a closed-door meeting with Trinamul MLAs, she was quoted as saying by a legislator: 'We are soft as well as tough.... We behave well with people but if attacked, we can tear apart a tiger's claws.'

Mamata hinted at sabotage in the bypolls to the Bongaon and Krishnaganj seats. 'Those who tried to cause damage to the party by voting for others would not be spared,' she said.

The chief minister's comments set tongues wagging in Trinamul as speculation was rife whether Roy and his aides in North 24-Parganas had acted against the interests of the party in the bypolls.

Trinamul won both seats handsomely, making it difficult for the leadership to level direct charges on any particular group.

Sources close to Roy said the Rajya Sabha MP was unhappy with the developments in the party. 'Dada has never said a word against the party or Mamatadi. He feels that after devoting his life and youth to the party, he has been backstabbed,' a source close to Roy said.

In Trinamul circles, the 'growing distance' between Mamata and Roy has been the talking point. The murmurs grew louder after Mamata appointed Subrata Bakshi as the additional all-India general secretary earlier this month and distributed several responsibilities handled by Roy among other leaders.

Trinamul sources said Roy was being gradually sidelined in the party and it remained to be seen how long he could take the 'humiliation'.

Mamata today appeared unfazed by the possibility of Roy switching to another party.

'Whether any individual comes or goes, it would have no impact on the party. Some people are trying to break our party. There have been attempts in the past to break Trinamul but no one has succeeded,' she said without taking any names.

The Trinamul sources said the situation on the ground was different although Mamata was trying to project a united face to keep her flock together ahead of the elections to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation and 90-odd other civic bodies.

'Didi is well aware that the bypoll results have worked in her favour but it may not be the same every time. If Mukulda leaves, it would definitely deal a blow to the party ahead of the civic elections,' a Trinamul source said.

An MLA who attended today's meeting said Mamata did not name Roy even once during her 10-minute speech.

'In the last two or three meetings that I attended, Didi had said Mukulda was innocent. Today, she made no reference to either the Saradha scam or Mukulda,' the MLA said.

Ripples of the Mamata-Roy rift were felt in Delhi hours after Mamata's meeting.

O'Brien, a Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson of Trinamul, signalled the rise of Abhishek and said the roles of many in the party had changed.

'There is designation and there is role. The party has fixed new roles. Now it is for you to draw conclusions,' O'Brien said when journalists asked him if Roy had been cut to size.

'Yes, Abhishek's role in the party has increased. He will play a crucial role in framing the overall strategy of the party, including parliamentary strategy,' he said.

Minutes later, Roy shot back by drawing the parallel of Rahul and Patel, Sonia Gandhi's political secretary.

His voice dripping sarcasm, Roy added: 'I am happy with my new role. I wish the party will do well and rule the country under the new leaders who have been given important responsibilities.'

Abhishek replied through a text message.

'I don't want to go into personal comparison as to who is a Rahul Gandhi or who Ahmed Patel. I want to remain like a booth level worker, who is ready to die for the party. The real wealth of the party is the workers. They make leaders. I want to serve the people and the party as a common worker and not a leader,' Abhishek said.

Sources said O'Brien had received the green signal from the top to speak on Roy after the latter apparently tried to showcase the support of some Muslim clerics yesterday. The clerics expressed solidarity with Roy and said he was being 'hounded' by the CBI in connection with the Saradha scam.

'We had chosen to remain silent. But yesterday, it was too much when Mukul tried to show he had the support of Muslim clerics. The attack (on Roy) may continue tomorrow too,' a Trinamul MP said.

The sources said that by fielding O'Brien, a political lightweight compared to Roy, the leadership was trying to 'demean' the Trinamul all-India general secretary who was the de facto number two in the party.

O'Brien rubbed it in by saying that he hadn't met Roy although their official residences in Delhi are just 500 metres apart. 'If you ask me whether I met Mukul, the answer is no,' he said.

O'Brien said with a smile that he and Kalyan Banerjee would handle parliamentary work during the budget session.

Asked if Trinamul MP Dinesh Trivedi had gone against the party line by attending the marriage reception of BJP president Amit Shah's son in Delhi, O'Brien said Trivedi had sought permission.

'I have spoken to Dineshda at length. He is on track and will remain loyal to the Trinamul Congress. So far as his attendance at Amit Shah's function is concerned, he went there on a personal invitation and had sought the party's permission for that,' O'Brien said.

Contacted tonight, Roy said he did not want to comment on what Mamata said at today's meeting with the MLAs. 'I have no comments. But I am doing my bit as a man of the organisation. I am keeping in touch with party workers while staying in Delhi. I shall meet them once I reach Calcutta tomorrow,' he said.

Asked if any leader of the BJP had contacted him in Delhi, he replied in the negative.

BJP sources said they were keeping a watch on the developments. 'We are maintaining a wait-and-watch policy on what is happening in Trinamul,' a BJP leader said in Delhi.