Using Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fifth meeting with the chief ministers as a platform to vent her grievances, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out at the Centre on May 11.
Alleging that the Centre is “playing politics” over COVID-19 at a time the entire world is grappling with the outbreak of the deadly pandemic, she said the Centre’s actions are scripted. She further said: “This is not the time to play politics. Nobody ever asks our opinion… Do not bulldoze the federal structure.”
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At the meeting to discuss the next step that can be taken in the phased exit plan from the nationwide lockdown, Mamata Banerjee also claimed that Bengal is doing its best to combat the virus and also cooperating with the Centre. Yet, she alleged, that the Government of India always picks on Bengal and only criticizes and “attacks” the state administration, reported NDTV.
The Trinamool Congress supremo further said all states should be given equal importance, while all states should also cooperate and join hands to fight the coronavirus crisis as “Team India”.
Notably, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre has locked horns with the Bengal CM in the recent past over misreporting of cases and doubts over data discrepancy vis-à-vis the population density and mortality rate. Mamata Banerjee’s administration has been accused of trying to play down the severity of the COVID-19 situation in the state as well.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recently developed a mobile application that would help the Centre directly track the number of coronavirus positive cases being recorded in Bengal, reported India Today. The RT-PCR app enters data on both COVID-19 negative and positive cases in real-time with the Centre and the respective state governments simultaneously.
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