Kolkata, May 10 -- West Bengal BJP President Samik Bhattacharya on Sunday dismissed claims of the party acting as a "washing machine" for defecting politicians, instead comparing the BJP to the holy river Ganga, albeit one with strictly guarded banks.

The comments came in response to suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Riju Dutta, who recently raised eyebrows by praising Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.

Speaking to ANI, Bhattacharya asserted that the praise from the suspended TMC leader is a precursor to a desired defection. However, he maintained that the BJP is currently not entertaining new entries from the ruling camp.

Bhattacharya claimed the party is being deluged with requests from TMC insiders. Addressing the long-s...