Not the time for politics, says Mamata at meet with PM
Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday that the Centre should not play politics at a time when the Coronavirus pandemic has gripped the country.
"We as a state doing our best to combat the virus. The Centre should not play politics in this crucial time. We are surrounded by international borders and other bigger states and have challenges to deal with," Banerjee said at the video-conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Stating that the federal structure should be respected and "must not be bulldozed", Banerjee said: "It is time to rise to the occasion to show compassion and help each other rather than accuse each other. All the states should be given equal importance and we should work together as a team."
Banerjee also criticised the Centre's move of sending its team to Bengal when the state is leaving no stone unturned in fighting the virus.
Terming it as a "poorly planned lockdown", Banerjee added: "The state government has followed all guidelines of the Centre and now when the desired results are not achieved, you (Centre) cannot shift the responsibility and onus on the states. Rather than shifting the responsibility, it is incumbent upon you to come out with a clear strategy."
Protesting against the Centre's contradictory stand by urging states to impose strong lockdown on one hand and relaxing everything gradually, Banerjee questioned: "Then what is the point in continuing with further lockdown when almost everything including train service, airport and the land border is being opened." In the same breath, she stated that it would be better if states are allowed to take decisions on their own regarding giving relaxation after May 17.
While speaking on migrant labourers, the Chief Minister informed that Bengal is facilitating the return of all its people stranded in different parts of the country and taking all required steps. So far, more than one lakh people have already come back.
Banerjee has also raised her voice in Monday's video-conference demanding clearance of outstanding amount of Rs 53,000 crore and national economic cum healthcare package for the country of at least 6 per cent of the GDP. She also demanded a hike in FRBM limit and maintained that states should be allowed to borrow directly from the RBI at the Repo rate.
As the state government needs to make an elaborate arrangement to ensure the safe return of the migrants, Banerjee stressed upon "the need of proper information sharing between the sending and the receiving states for proper planning as we don't want these people to be put to further hardship".
She also added: "The migrant workers should not pay for their transportation at all. If the Centre fails to pay, we are willing to pay for the migrant workers and the Centre must make provisions for testing of these people."
Giving a comparative figure of the number of people suffering from COVID-19 in per one crore in Bengal with that of other 12 other states including Delhi, Maharashtra and Gujarat, Banerjee said: "It is just 194 in Bengal which stands at 3644, 1848 and 1301 in Delhi, Maharashtra and Gujarat respectively." Assuring to stand by the people of cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Delhi, Banerjee said: "States, where cases are more, should not be finger-pointed as it is neither their fault nor it is the fault of their people."
Giving details of the COVID-19 situation in Bengal, Banerjee mentioned that testing has doubled from 2,000 per day to 4,000 per day in just one week and so far 47,615 samples have been tested in Bengal in 18 laboratories. She also added that at present 1,374 people have tested positive and 113 have died due to the disease. She also mentioned that at present, there are 600 containment zones in Bengal and three districts that were in Green zones have become Orange with the return of migrants.
