The row between alliance partners Trinamool Congress and Congress took an ugly turn today a day after a minor ministerial reshuffle when a minister of state belonging to Congress openly criticised Mamata Banerjee's performance after being stripped of two of three departments of his portfolio, and even threatened to resign.

Manoj Chakraborty, minister of state for food processing, charged that the government was being run in a dictatorial manner and alleged that "people are questioning Mamata Banerjee's own performance".

"I don't want to stay as a minister any longer and I want to be relieved of my responsibility. My undated resignation letter is ready," an upset Chakraborty said at a hurriedly- called press conference at the state secretariat, close to the chief minister's office.

It was at the secretariat where some days back he had raised a banner of revolt against the Trinamool Congress on the Indira Bhavan controversy.

Chakraborty today said he was surprised to know of being divested of two departments of his ministry - small-scale enterprise and parliamentary affairs - and criticised Banerjee for the decision.

He said he had sought the Congress high command's consent to resign from the ministry and would not attend the secretariat from tomorrow.

"I will not come to the Writers' Buildings (state secretariat) from tomorrow and not even Mayukh Bhavan to attend office of the food processing left to me," Chakraborty told reporters accompanied by party colleague and Fisheries Minister Abu Hena.

Both Chakraborty and Hena were affected in the minor reshuffle carried out by the chief minister, even as there was no official notification about such a shake-up even a day after.

Chakraborty said he had faxed his letters to the High Command this afternoon and would await its response.

"I have faxed letters to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, AICC general secretary Shakeel Ahmed and Murshidabad district Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury, seeking permission to be relieved of my ministerial responsibility," he said.

"My ministerial responsibility should be given to some other person from the party," he said in his letter.

Chakraborty said that he was informed by party's minister (Irrigation) Manas Bhuniya yesterday that the chief minister might effect a minor shake-up in the ministry.

"He asked me to come to his room which I refused. I told him that he should have consulted me before giving his consent," he said.

Abu Hena, the other minister, said that though it was the chief minister's prerogative to allocate portfolios, "I came to know of the shake-up only from TV channels."

Sharply reacting to Chakraborty's outburst, Commerce and Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee said that he should resign without delay instead of "openly criticising the government and holding out the threat of quitting".

Alleging that such attacks were being made by the state government from the CPI-M too, Chatterjee advised Chakraborty to immediately quit showing respect to the Constitution.

"It is time to work for the government," he said.

Another minister Arup Biswas, who took over only yesterday, slammed Chakraborty for his "reckless comments".

He described his utterances as "shouts of a madman on the streets which should not be taken note of".

"His words speak of one's lack of education and civilised manner. He should know how to speak," Biswas, who was given the charge Youth welfare and two other departments, said.

Bhuniya refused to comment on Chakraborty's portrayal of him as "a man playing a dual role in the government".