'Party will not tolerate any malpractice in distribution of relief'

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has urged her party colleagues to go ahead at full throttle against the canard spread by the Opposition against the state government in fighting COVID- 19 and in restoring normalcy that got devastated by the super cyclone Amphan.

Banerjee categorically said those leaders particularly from Kolkata who are "indulging themselves in loose talks are free to leave the party."

She held a video conference with party leaders on Friday evening.

She said the party will not tolerate "any malpractice over distribution of relief or ration and the administration will take stern action against such errant persons."

She asked her leader to go all out against the volley of fake news which the BJP has uploaded in social media. "BJP, CPI(M) and Congress are speaking the same language in criticising the Bengal government. BJP is spending crores of rupees to upload fake news. We will have to fight it out. We will have to strengthen social media and build intimate contact with people," she said.

Banerjee maintained that the leaders will have to make the people aware of the role played by the state government in fighting COVID- 19. "We did not know what Corona Virus is. But we developed the infrastructure to fight the pandemic. People should know what we have done. The state government has so far set up 69 dedicated COVID- 19 hospitals, of which 16 are state-run and 53 are privately owned. As many as 582 quarantine centres have been set up," she said.

The leaders were told to hold press conferences to create awareness among the people. They will receive detailed information about the steps taken by the state government to fight COVID 19 pandemic as well as the schemes taken for the benefit of people.

She added that the state government has tried its best to normalcy that got devastated due to the super cyclone Amphan. "The cyclone had caused damages in 16 districts and the Centre has deprived the state government. People should know what the state government has done to build the infrastructure that got damaged."

The leaders have been asked to inform the people about the steps taken to bring back the migrant workers. It was Mamata Banerjee who had first written to the the Chief Ministers of 18 states to look after the migrant workers who work in their respective states. Later, it was she who first decided that the railway fare will be paid by the state government so far it had cleared Rs 12 crore out of a total of Rs 25 crore in this regard.