Mamata, BJP in fresh face-off over ‘fake news’ on lockdown inBengal
Banerjee says Union ministers and the governor should stop making political statements against her govtBJP’s state unit says the TMC government was not doing enough to impose the lockdown
NEW DELHI : West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday brought to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the adverse comments made against her government in the backdrop of the ongoing lockdown. At a video conference that Modi held with chief ministers, Banerjee also called for extending the lockdown.
Over the past one week, while Banerjee has accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders of spreading fake news, the party state leadership alleged she is not doing enough to enforce the lockdown.
According to an official who attended the meeting, while requesting an extension, Banerjee said central ministers and the state governor should stop making political and contradictory statements against her government.
“In the meeting, we told the Prime Minister that we are cooperating with the centre, but there are some people and leaders who are spreading fake news about the state and engaging in dirty games... We do not stand to lose or gain anything by increasing or decreasing the death figures," Banerjee told reporters in Kolkata on Saturday evening.
Banerjee and BJP have been at loggerheads since the Lok Sabha elections in May 2019 when the BJP managed to win 18 out of the 42 seats in the state, posing the first challenge to the TMC since the electoral decimation of the Left parties in West Bengal. The coming assembly polls in May 2021 is expected to be a high-pitched battle between the two sides as Congress and Left parties have a marginal presence.
Dilip Ghosh, BJP’s state unit chief, led a delegation of his party leaders to governor Jagdeep Dhankar on Saturday, saying the TMC government was not doing enough to impose the lockdown and demanded proper distribution of rations.
The West Bengal chief minister on Saturday also demanded a national package amounting to around 6% of the country’s gross domestic product to counter the pandemic and its impact and relief for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.
Anuja and Gyan Varma contributed to the story.
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