India, July 5 -- A day after a rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress seized control of the party's headquarters, and hours after one of her closest aides quit all organisational posts, Mamata Banerjee broke a prolonged public silence on Saturday with a defiant Facebook live address - accusing the BJP of unleashing a "reign of terror" on her party, dismissing the loss of both her headquarters and her state president as inconsequential, and announcing that she would personally take charge of rebuilding the Bengal unit herself.

The twin blows arrived in rapid succession.

On Friday night, MLAs loyal to Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee took over the party's operational headquarters on the EM Bypass, changing the locks and puttin...