Ranchi: Accusing the Centre of politicking at a juncture when the country is fighting against a raging second wave of COVID-19, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "weather the storm" together with states and focus on surviving the "hurricane".
"This is not the time to meddle in politics when we are caught in a storm. This is not the time for leg-pulling.
(Let us) weather the storm together Survive the hurricane and take the boat to shore together ... But if you (Centre) continue fighting in mid-sea, you will sink and we (states) will sink (too)," Soren said in an interview. Urging Prime Minister Modi to "work together" with states during these difficult times, Soren accused him of instead causing damage to India's federal structure.
Currently, the country is experiencing an aggressive second phase of the pandemic, and to address this there is need for proper coordination between the Centre and states, he said.
"I feel pain ... prime minister through video conferencing speaks to DMs (District Magistrates) and DCs (Deputy Collectors) but does not allow chief ministers to talk. In a federal system, you don't accept the state's leadership...such a precedent was never set in the last 70 years...If state governments start doing this with the Centre what will happen?," Soren questioned.
Earlier this month, the chief minister had described Modi's phone call to him on the COVID-19 situation in the country as the PM's "Mann Ki Baat", where the conversation was one-sided, which had resulted in a political slugfest.
Accusing the Centre of failing "miserably" to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, Soren questioned why the Centre was unable to assess the situation and "mismanaged" vaccination and medical relief.